ATHENS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Greece counts on European solidarity to address the migration and refugee issue, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told visiting EU Commissioners on Thursday in Athens.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson visited Greece before travelling to Ankara on Friday for talks on the migration and asylum issue.

During their meeting, Mitsotakis underlined the need for a reasonable burden sharing among EU countries, according to an e-mailed press announcement issued by his office.

"This is an issue with a clear European dimension. It's not a Greek-Turkish issue. It's an issue that affects the European Union as a whole," he said.

On his part, Schinas referred to European solidarity and the new asylum pact being prepared by the EU.

"Our idea is to discuss three issues; the pact, the solidarity element, then the situation as we face it now. And of course, EU-Turkey agreements that are vital -- crucial for an orderly management of migratory flow," Schinas pointed out.

Some 90,000 refugees and migrants currently stranded in Greece, including 34,700 on islands, according to the latest official data from Greek authorities. The Greek government has announced a series of new steps lately to tackle the migration issue which were praised by both EU officials.

"I'm very happy that the new government is doing a lot of these important steps now for the migrants in Greece and also for the legislation," Johansson said.

Johansson acknowledged that Greece was under great pressure and stressed that the difficult task would be to find a common European policy for migration and asylum.

"Every week that we do not have that we pay a high price especially for a country like Greece that had such big pressure," she said noting that the refugees are suffering as well.

A woman lost her life on Thursday in the Kara Tepe refugee camp on Lesvos island, when fire broke out in the container she was staying with her family, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. Her husband was hospitalized after saving their three children.

Greece's Northern Aegean Sea islands have received the bulk of refugee-migrant influx to Europe since 2015. Due to dire living conditions and overcrowding, numerous fires have started inside the camps during the winter season.

The Kara Tepe refugee camp hosts more than 1,000 refugees. Enditem

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