Greece is in the process of returning 308 irregular migrants to Turkey because they do not qualify for asylum or other protection in the EU, said the European Commission.

The migrants come from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and joined the tsunami of Syrian refugees escaping the brutal civil war in Syria.

Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “Under the EU-Turkey joint action plan we agreed to accelerate return and readmission procedures with Turkey. The European Commission has reinforced its support for cooperation on return between EU Member States and Turkey and today’s transfers of returnees from Greece to Turkey show that our efforts are starting to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, the EU wants to inject another 700 million Euros into an emergency assistance mechanism to help EU member states who are overwhelmed by the sudden influx of refugees.

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said: “With this proposal, we will be able to deliver emergency assistance for crises much faster than before, inside the European Union. Right now, there’s no doubt that this will be particularly needed to support refugees. I now look to European governments and the European Parliament to quickly back the proposal.”

Emergency assistance would be provided in close coordination with Member States and organisations such as UN agencies, non-governmental organisations and international organisations, and include the provision of basic necessities such as food, shelter and medicine to the large numbers of children, women and men currently arriving in EU countries, said the Commission.

Greece and the Balkan countries have been swamped by desperate migrants seeking help in the EU.

The migrant flow is considered to be the worst since World War II.

One quarter of Syria’s 26 million people have fled the country since the civil war started in 2012.