Portugal to accept 500 unaccompanied migrant children from Greece, say authorities

Portugal will soon accept 500 unaccompanied minors, among refugees and migrants who are currently in Greece, as part of an EU-led plan of the equitable distribution of migrant arrivals, with 25 minors leaving for the country in the first half of June, the Greek Ministry for Migration and Asylum said on Thursday.

"During a telephone conversation between Deputy Minister for Migration and Asylum Gorges Koumoutsakos and Portuguese Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita, Portugal's decision to accept 500 unaccompanied children in the near future was confirmed. It was decided that the first group of 25 minors will leave for Portugal in the first half of June, and then followed by a gradual relocation of the remaining children," the ministry said in a statement.

Under the plan, EU nations have agreed to share in the relocation efforts of up to 1,600 minors held in Greek migrant camps. In April, two groups of unaccompanied underage migrants left Greece - 50 of them went to Germany and 12 others to Luxembourg.

An agreement is in place to relocate 22 other children to Switzerland and 100 more to Finland. Later on Thursday, the deputy minister is set to discuss the relocation of minors to Serbia with the country's ambassador to Greece, Dusan Spasojevic, as Belgrade stated it was ready to accept 50 unaccompanied children.

There are still roughly 4,800 unaccompanied children remaining in the Greek migrant facilities.