Catalonia ‘wants to be part of the solution’ for Moria refugees

After a fire broke out on Tuesday night on the Greek island of Lesbos, around 13,000 migrants were left without shelter and seeking aid. 

Catalan foreign affairs minister, Bernat Solé, is pushing for Catalonia to be “a part of the solution.” The ERC politician has asked his Spanish counterpart, Arancha González Laya, for Spain to "assume the commitment to receive refugees" following the fire that devastated the refugee camp.

However, Solé did not specify how many refugees the Catalan government would be willing to accept and said he was discussing the details with the department of social affairs. 

Solé also mentioned that all Catalan aid workers in the affected area are in "good condition."

Brussels, too, has called for the "evacuation" of the refugees on the island of Lesbos. "I don't see that they are in a position to stay," interior commissioner Ylva Johansson admitted on Thursday at the European Parliament. 

However, the decision is in the hands of Greece, which has so far not asked for help from its European partners to accommodate the people trapped.