Germany wants Greece ‘hotspots’ ready this month

Germany says it expects the so-called hotspots for migrants in Greece to begin functioning by the end of the month.

The European Union agreed to set up the processing centers in those countries where the biggest numbers of migrants arrive. Those deemed likely to get asylum or some other form of protection are then meant to be redistributed across the EU.

Tobias Plate, a spokesman for Germany's interior ministry, said the centers were at various stages of completion but “we expect this to proceed rapidly.”

Plate told reporters in Berlin on Monday that Germany “expect that in November…the hotspots, particularly in Greece, will become fully operational.”

Germany, meanwhile, is close to completing work on two “waiting zones” capable of housing 5,000 migrants each at its border with Austria, Plate said.

[AP]