EU increases funds to return migrants to their native countries
On 28 February, Reuters agency revealed that Sebastian Junker, leader of European Commission, proposed to set up funding for the United Nation’s migration agency(IOM) to return migrants stranded in Libya to their home countries. Malta, heavily affected by immigration, suggested this line at the informal meeting of the EU heads of state on 3 February. EU members will meet again to carry on with discussions in Malta on 3 March,.
According to IOM, there are between 700,000 and one million migrants in Libya. This year, the goal is to help 7,000 of them to go back to their native countries. Illegal immigration represents a burning issue for EU members, worried by the infiltration of terrorists and criminals among refugees. For this reason, at the meeting in Malta, the bloc promised support to the U.N.-backed government in Libya to help bring about stability and to curb migration from the coast.
