ATHENS – Today is an important and a very moving day, as 50 unaccompanied minors, children and adolescents, are leaving Greece to find a new home in Germany, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday at the “Eleftherios Venizelos” airport ahead of the departure of unaccompanied minors for Germany.

The full statement of the prime minister follows:

“Today is an important and, frankly, a very moving day, as 50 unaccompanied minors, children and adolescents, are leaving Greece to find a new home in Germany.

In the era of coronavirus this act of solidarity by the German Government is very much appreciated. The Greek Government has been, for many months now, making the case that we need more European solidarity in tackling the problem of unaccompanied minors.

We are very happy that with the work that we have put in with our Deputy Minister, Mr. Koumoutsakos, Ms. Agapidaki, our Special Rapporteur for Unaccompanied Minors, that European countries are finally responding. And we hope that within the next months approximately 1,600 unaccompanied minors will find a new home in Europe.

Dealing with the migration crisis should be a European responsibility. We should be burden-sharing and we should be able, as Europe, to start with the most pressing problem, which is the problem of unaccompanied minors. So today is an important day for Greece, an important day for European solidarity. But mostly it is an important day for these young kids and adolescents, who will leave Greece to start, with a new hope, a new life in Germany.”