Estonia reaches first refugee quota
Estonia has accepted 206 so-called quota refugees under the migrant plan agreed upon by EU member states in 2015, and regards that plan as having been conclusively fulfilled.
The 18 Syrian refugees who arrived in Estonia earlier this week are the final quota refugees to be accepted by Estonia under the EU plan from 2015.
Spokespeople for the Ministry of the Interior told BNS on Wednesday that all refugees to be accepted under the 2015 quota have arrived in Estonia by now, and no more people will be accepted under that plan.
Of the 206 refugees accepted, 141 arrived in Estonia from Greece, 59 from Turkey and six from Italy.
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 88 of these 206 refugees are currently not in Estonia.
Estonia initially pledged to accept 550 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece under the EU migrant relocation and resettlement plan agreed upon in 2015.
In accordance with the European Commission proposal from September 2017 concerning the resettlement of a further 50,000 people, Estonia agreed to accept an additional 80 refugees within the framework of the new program over the next two years.
Thus, the maximum number of people that Estonia is set to accept under the two plans combined is 286.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS
