The European Union may submit a proposal as quickly as March on the creation of so-called ‘return hubs’ to expedite the removing of unlawful migrants, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated on Thursday (Jan 2).
Kristersson sketched out the potential timetable throughout a gathering in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a fellow conservative, by which each males urged the European Union to step up efforts to counter unlawful immigration.
Rising help for laborious and far-right events throughout Europe has pushed immigration up the political agenda. EU leaders stated in October they had been contemplating a scheme below which migrants with no proper to remain within the bloc may very well be despatched to hubs in international locations thought of protected outdoors the EU.
Kristersson stated he had mentioned the scheme with the EU Commissioner for Migration, Austria’s Magnus Brunner, who had assured him a proposal could be forthcoming this spring.
That, Kristersson stated, presumably meant someday in March, in keeping with the interpreter’s translation of his remarks throughout a joint press convention with Nehammer.
“There’s some momentum proper now,” Kristersson stated.
Nehammer praised Kristersson for preserving immigration on the EU’s agenda, and argued there have been now 18 international locations inside Europe’s Schengen free journey space, together with Switzerland and Norway, whose pursuits had been aligned on curbing migrant flows.
The Austrian chancellor stated that involved governments had managed to “utterly change” dialogue round immigration in order that international locations with no exterior EU border, corresponding to Austria, had been now extra concerned in addressing the difficulty.
“Solely after we recognise that the issue should be solved collectively do now we have an opportunity of constructing progress,” he stated.