Plans for centers outside the EU

According to the EUobserver, some of the member states of the European Union are in favor of the opening of detention centers for migrants in Europe but in a non-EU country.

This idea was publicly announced by the representatives of Austria and Denmark with the support of Germany and the Netherlands at the beginning of June. The reasoning given is that migrants come to Europe through a number of countries with the aim of seeking asylum in the country they like the most, and not in the first safe country.

At the end of June, EU leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a broader reform of the asylum system. Austria, as the country taking over the presidency from Bulgaria and which will be in charge of the organization of the meeting, did not show strong optimism that the solution will be found, and announced a new summit on the same subject in September.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker did not oppose the project of camps for migrants outside the EU, because as he explained he believes that the issue of irregular migration is not only a European issue, but a national issue of the affected countries as well.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen explained that plans are being made to open such centers in „country that isn’t on the migrants’ or the human traffickers’ list of preferred destinations, not a particularly attractive country“. According to the Danish prime minister, the first steps will be taken already this year, and the Bavarian Prime Minister hopes that the detention centers could be opened already in August.

Earlier it was mentioned that such centers could be opened in Belarus. The President of Belarus then stated that the representatives of the European Union pledged to finance such centers, but that Belarus was not ready to begin this type of cooperation until it had signed readmission agreements with the countries from which the persons would be accommodated.

Photo: Fields of Gold, monkeywing (CC BY 2.0)