Minister: No plan to discuss new refugee resettlement scheme at present

Minister of the Interior Andres Anvelt (SDE) said that Estonia currently has not planned to discuss the new refugee resettlement plan presented by the European Commission on Wednesday.
"Estonia will continue to fulfill the migration plan agreed on two years ago and is not planning to hold other discussions at present," Anvelt told BNS. "Before any kind of discussion, I would like for the European Commission to introduce the resettlement suggestions presented on Wednesday to the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union."
The European Commission on Wednesday presented its its plan to develop the EU migration and asylum policy, which among other things also includes accepting 50,000 refugees from African countries as well as making the EU return policy more effective.
The European Commission suggested that member states accept the new EU resettlement plan in order to, over the course of two years, bring to Europe at least 50,000 of the most vulnerable persons in need of international protection.
Estonia still fulfilling previous quota
Estonia has pledged to accept 550 asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece over a two-year period under the current EU migrant relocation and resettlement plan.
A total of 161 refugees have been relocated or resettled in Estonia from Greece and Turkey since the EU program was launched, 84 of whom are either not currently in Estonia or have left the country permanently. Thus, 77 quota refugees currently reside in Estonia.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS