Active cooperation between the European Union and African countries which serve as transit points for many undocumented migrants coming to Europe will reduce the flow of migration, Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said on Thursday.
TALLINN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Active cooperation between the European Union and African countries which serve as transit points for many undocumented migrants coming to Europe will reduce the flow of migration, Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said on Thursday.
Ratas gave a speech at an informal meeting of the EU heads of state and government, devoted to Brexit and migration, in the Austrian city of Salzburg. The summit started on Wednesday and is due to conclude later in the day.
"Although the European Union has shown results in dealing with the migration crisis and the number of illegal immigrants has dropped, work on improving the situation in the Mediterranean must continue. We need closer co-operation with countries outside the European Union, especially with African countries. We need to make better use of all our trade, visa, and development policies," Ratas said, as quoted in the Cabinet's statement.
The prime minister also urged the European Union to speed up efforts to "quickly return" the migrants who do not have a right to international protection from the bloc to their countries of origin.
On Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said that he will propose to the EU leaders at a meeting in Salzburg to hold a joint summit with the Arab League in Egypt in February. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini supported the idea.
Since 2015, Europe has been facing a migration crisis, with scores of refugees arriving from countries rife with conflict. Many of them are attempting to reach the continent via the Mediterranean Sea. Many members of the Arab League are used as transit countries for refugees seeking to flee their countries of origin.
