The U.N. refugee agency is praising Greece's effort to take in refugees while scolding some of its European neighbors for suddenly slamming shut their borders and not keeping their promises — causing a "looming humanitarian crisis" on the continent. UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said 25,000 people have been stranded in Greece after neighboring Macedonia and other European countries closed their borders to refugees, many trying to reach more welcoming countries like Germany and Sweden. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin now plans to step up its efforts to warn migrants of the financial and health risks they are taking on when they set out for Germany. Information campaigns in the migrants' home and transit countries will also note that "many of them won't have a realistic chance of staying here in Germany." The European Union's head office wants to swiftly push through a proposal to earmark 700 million euros ($760 million) in humanitarian aid to deal with the refugee crisis. EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides says Wednesday that 300 million euros ($325 million) would be earmarked for this year and be used "where it is most needed," alluding to Greece and the nations along the Balkan trail that refugees use to move into the heartland of the 28-nation bloc The overall total would cover three years.
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