Germany: Refugees Saved in Mediterranean Must Be Returned to North Africa

All illegal migrants who have been saved in the Mediterranean Sea must be returned to special centres for placement in North Africa where their applications for asylum in European countries can be reviewed, stated German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizi?re before a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the EU in Luxembourg.

“People who are being saved in the Mediterranean must be redirected to temporary shelters located in North Africa. Their need of protection will be checked and we will start a re-population in Europe via generous quotas distributed fairly among European countries,” added de Maizi?re. According to him, migrants who do not receive refugee status must be returned to their homelands.

The statement of the German Interior Minister comes against the background of continuing debates among EU countries regarding the mandatory quotas for migrants coming from Greece and Italy. Several European countries raised objections to Brussels’ proposal for a mandatory number of refugees to be received on their territory. The Interior Minister did not pinpoint a particular country in North Africa but, for some time now, the EU has been trying to limit the migrant flow from Libya – the main departure point of people trying to reach Europe.

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