Greece Will be Ready for Returning Refugees, Migration Minister tells the Guardian

Conditions have improved and will meet EU criteria, Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told British newspaper The Guardian in an interview about housing returning refugees from EU countries.

“The paperwork has begun and we expect returns to begin over the next month,” said Mouzalas. “It will start with a symbolic number as an act of friendship [towards other EU nations]. Greece has already accepted so many [refugees], it has come under such pressure, that to accept more would be absurd, a joke if it weren’t such a tragedy.”

Mouzalas said he had no idea where the returnees would be placed or whether they would ever leave Greece. “I don’t know where they will go. It could be Athens, it could be Thebes … they will be accommodated in an apartment scheme,” he said. “Whatever [happens], conditions will be good, they have improved greatly and will meet EU criteria.”

In a move decried by human rights groups, EU states will send back asylum seekers who first sought refuge in Greece, despite the nation being enmeshed in its worst economic crisis in modern times.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joins Liverpool

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has signed for Liverpool for an undisclosed fee. Alex spent six years with us, making 199 appearances and scoring 20 goals. He helped us to three Emirates FA Cup victories, putting in a man-of-the-match performance in our semi-final win against Manchester City last season. A year after his arrival from Southampton, 'The Ox' featured for England at Euro 2012 aged just 18. He currently has 27 senior caps for the Three Lions. We'd like to thank Alex for his contribution to the club and wish him well for the future. The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes. Copyright 2017 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source

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