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Tue, 10 Nov, 2015 12:01:08 AM FTimes – STT Report, Nov 10  Interior Minister Petteri Orpo.File Photo – Lehtikuva. Interior Minister Petteri Orpo on Monday urged the other member states of the European Union to take more responsibility in relocation of asylum seekers.
Speaking at a meeting in Brussels, he also said that Finland is ready to receive 48 more asylum seekers and afterwards the relocation will be suspended until other countries join in the effort.
Finland has promised to receive 3,200 asylum seekers, and 48 of them have already arrived.
Orpo said there is a remarkable absence of countries which have not been affected by the ongoing great influx of immigrants.
The EU countries agreed to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other member states. The procedure has so far seen relocation of only a couple of hundred refugees.
Transfers of asylum seekers have also been made to Sweden and Luxembourg, but the vast majority of countries have not yet taken any asylum seeker.
Orpo suggested that many countries want to wait calmly and see how the new approach works. The relocations are to be carried out in two years, and thus there is no pressure on timetable.
Pressure is in Italy and Greece as they are expected to set up centres for coordinating the transfers.
Greece particularly faces implementation problems where currently the number of new arrivals is higher than in Italy.
Orpo said he was pessimistic about the situation in Greece. According to the minister, the country does not want to bear enough responsibility to ensure a successful start of the transfers of asylum seekers.
The majority of asylum seekers have continued with their journey across the borders. According to the minister, Greece has not done enough to curb the influx through registration.
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