The United Nations said Friday that the European Union must quickly establish adequate centers to receive and register asylum seekers in Greece and Italy and then distribute them across the bloc before winter sets in. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 591,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean by sea this year, including 450,000 to Greece, and this week 85 boats have been arriving daily on the island of Lesbos. "We don't know the full reasons for this surge in arrivals: it could be the result of a temporary improvement in the weather, a rush to beat the onset of winter and a fear that European borders may soon close," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters. Violence at a crowded registration site on Lesbos Thursday forced UNHCR staff to briefly evacuate. Edwards said that facilities in Sicily, Greece, and other areas "haven't been adequate to cope with the numbers," adding, "This is not a crisis that at the moment is being adequately managed.
