The European Union (EU) has launched a new aid program worth 700 million Euros to help Greece deal with the build-up of refugees and migrants on its territory.
The scheme is designed to become a permanent part of the E-U budget for member states facing a crisis, and mirrors the kind of disaster relief the E-U offers developing countries.
Tens of thousands of prospective asylum seekers, mainly fleeing conflict in the Middle East, are stranded in Greece after several European countries to its north further strengthened control of their borders.
Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has questioned E-U states' commitment to an agreement to share the resettlement of refugees and migrants arriving across the Mediterranean.
Some 10 thousand migrants are blocked at the border between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece as tensions start to rise.
Greek Migration Minister Ioannis Mouzalas has said that the border between the two countries was effectively closed, and that they would only let in as many people as Serbia, the next country on the route, would take from them.
The impact of the refugee crisis on Bulgaria is very significant.
Forecasts are predicting 40 % drop in the number of Bulgarian tourists visiting Greece over the long weekend which begins on Thursday with the celebration of Bulgarias national holiday (Liberation Day) and lasts until Sunday.
This drop is due to the blockade staged by Greek farmers at checkpoints along the border with Bulgaria in the past month.
According to figures of the Institute for tourism analyses and evaluation, 40 % of Bulgarians who had intended to visit Greece for the holiday, gave up their intention.
Political commentary by Plamen Asenov.
