Refugees Macedonia

 

In 2015, over 815 000 refugees and migrants passed through the Republic of North Macedonia on their way to Serbia, Hungary and Croatia. Catering for these people in need was a challenge that put the response capacities of the country, with its two million inhabitants, to the test. The EU has provided humanitarian funding of over € 4.7 million to the  Republic of North Macedonia to help with the provision of emergency assistance. The country is also is prone to heavy flooding, and has benefited from assistance from the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism in both 2015 and 2016.

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What are the needs? In 2015 and 2016, the Republic of North Macedonia, like other countries in the Western Balkans, was confronted with a massive influx of refugees and migrants in transit from Greece to Serbia and then to Hungary or Croatia. Displaced persons mostly arrived from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2015, the estimated influx was of over 815 000 refugees. After the closure of the so-called Western Balkans route and the entry into force of the EU-Turkey deal, arrivals dropped in 2016 to around 90 000.

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