Greece Flies First Refugees To Luxembourg

Thirty refugees are moving from Greece to Luxembourg - the start of a relocation of refugees that should see thousands settled across the European Union.

Speaking ahead of the departure of the six families, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said: "The Greek people are quite knowledgeable when it comes to being a refugee.

"Let's not forget the fact that Greece is also going through its own humanitarian crisis. A large part of the Greek population are living in destitution or in very difficult conditions... in of recent years.

"Despite this reality, especially the residents of the islands, have opened their arms to the people, the refugees, and given them a warm embrace."

The Prime Minister stressed it was only the start of the programme which aims to disperse 160,000 migrants throughout the EU.

"Of course we have full realisation that this is just a start, that 30 people compared to thousands who have fled (their homes due to war) is just a drop in the ocean," Mr Tsipras said. "But we aim to make this drop a stream."

More than 600,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece so far this year, many in the past few months.

The refugees and migrants have travelled from Turkey and further to make the long journey to Europe either to escape war or in the hope of a better life.

Tens of thousands have trekked the Balkan route on foot but others have risked their lives travelling in dinghies, wooden boats and other vessels reach the islands daily.

The boats have carried from 40 up to hundreds of people each and hundreds of people have died as their overloaded and unseaworthy boats and dinghies overturned or sank in the Aegean.

Two children and two men have become the latest casualties - they drowned on Tuesday night after an accident involving a boat carrying nearly 50 people.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said the "symbolic" gesture of Wednesday's departures was "only a start, but a very, very important start".

He, together with other senior European officials, said it was no good trying to build barbed wire border fences to keep refugees out because that was against European values.

"Walls, fences and barbed wires cannot be part of the European Union," Mr Asselborn said.

Unless Europe changes that perception as well as its xenophobic traits, "then the values of the European Union are destroyed in some way," he said.