STOCKHOLM — On Thursday, European Union ministers sought ways to curb illegal immigration and send more people out as arrivals rose from pandemic lows, reviving the idea of border fences and asylum centers outside Europe. I was allowed to.
The EU’s border agency, Frontex, reported about 330,000 unauthorized arrivals last year, the highest number since 2016, with a sharp increase on the Western Balkans route.
“There has been a significant increase in irregular arrivals of migrants,” Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said during a meeting with 27 EU immigration ministers. “Our return rate is very low and we can make great strides here.”
Denmark, the Netherlands and Latvia put more pressure, through visas and development aid, on some 20 countries, including Iraq and Senegal, that they see as not cooperating with the EU to win back their citizens who have no right to stay. was among those who asked to play Europe.
According to bloc officials, only about a fifth of such people have been sent back, with inadequate resources and coordination on the EU’s part another hurdle.
“The overall economic stagnation will transform countries like Tunisia from being transit countries to being destinations for locals,” an EU official said. “It changes things. But he’s still very manageable, especially if the EU acts together.”
More than a million people crossed the Mediterranean in 2015, and Brock was caught off guard by chaotic death scenes.
Since then, the EU has strengthened its external border and asylum laws. As people move again following the COVID-19 pandemic, arguments are coming to the fore, as are some proposals that were previously dismissed as unacceptable.
Denmark has held talks with Rwanda on the treatment of asylum seekers in East Africa, while some have asked for EU funding for a border fence between Bulgaria and Turkey, both ideas so far taboo. was viewed.
“We are still working to make it happen, preferably in cooperation with other European countries, but as a last resort we will only do it in cooperation with Denmark and, for example, with Rwanda,” Kale Dibbad Immigrant the phase said on Thursday.
Dutch Minister Eric van der Berg said he was open to EU funding for border barriers.
While EU member states protest against illegal immigration, Germany is simultaneously trying to open its job market to much-needed workers from outside the EU.
Interior Minister Nancy Feser said in Stockholm: “We want to conclude immigration agreements, especially with North African countries, that allow legal routes to Germany but also include a functioning return.”