Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands every day despite the EU deal.
The first Syrians arrived in Germany from Istanbul on Monday under a controversial EU-Turkey migrant pact, an official from the German federal refugee office told AFP.
Under the scheme agreed with the EU last month, one Syrian refugee will be settled in Europe legally in return for every Syrian migrant taken back by Turkey from EU member Greece, which has faced the largest influx in recent months.
All irregular migrants who have landed on the Greek islands since March 20 face being sent back to Turkey -- although the deal calls for each case to be examined individually.