Refugee hotspots need to be ready in four weeks, says EU’s migration commissioner

Greece and Italy must have set up hotspots for registering and processing migrants and refugees within the next four weeks if they are to honor their commitments, European Union Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

Speaking to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Avramopoulos also voiced fears that inflows from the Middle East, Asia and northern Africa may spike in the coming months.

“We have no more than four weeks in order to achieve results at the borders,” Avramopoulos said, amid growing concerns of a social backlash to the uncontrolled influx in countries such as Germany.

Avramopoulos was critical of member-states that are refusing to comply with an EU refugee-sharing pact, saying that the Commission has provided these countries will all possible support.

“I went to every country, offered support everywhere, economic, technical and in infrastructure,” the Greek commissioner said.