Germany, Spain, and Greece struck a migration deal Friday at a European Union summit, Politico reports.
Germany will return to Spain asylum seekers whose first EU entry was Spain, as well as cover the cost of their return, the Spanish government said. Germany will allow family reunification to take place, reuniting 2,900 people who now live in Greece with their families, the report said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel requested the deal, Spain said, in meetings on the summit’s sidelines with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Tsipras said he had confidence that Greece could handle asylum seekers, as only around 100 to 150 people now leave Greece for Germany, the report said.
The Greek prime minister also said that Germany and Spain have committed to help Greece in case of any new migration crisis, as well as to provide financial assistance to the five eastern Aegean islands, Politico reported.
Merkel reportedly secured agreements with 14 EU countries to rapidly return some asylum seekers. Merkel wants to establish “anchor centers” to process migrants at Germany’s borders, the DPA news agency reported.