EU To Launch Talks On Illegal Migration With North African States - Austrian Chancellor

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published September 20, 2018 | 08:22 PM

The European Union will launch talks with Egypt and other North African nations in order to find a solution to the illegal migration problem in the region, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday.

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) The European Union will launch talks with Egypt and other North African nations in order to find a solution to the illegal migration problem in the region, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Austrian city of Salzburg is hosting an informal EU summit focusing on a number of issues, including the migration crisis.

"Yesterday, we offered to the heads of state and government to launch negotiations with Egypt and other countries of North Africa. Everyone supported this initiative, that is why [European Council] President [Donald] Tusk and I will do it. I think this will be one more important step in the fight against illegal migration, specifically human trafficking," Kurz said after having arrived at the summit.

The chancellor pointed out that since 2016, Egypt had been preventing boats with migrants from heading for Europe.

"Egypt proved that it could be effective," Kurz added.

The European Union has been experiencing a large-scale migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in the middle East and North Africa.

During a summit this summer, the European Council agreed on several aspects of the bloc's migration policy, including the establishment of "regional disembarkation platforms in close cooperation with relevant third countries" and controlled centers in the EU member states to process asylum applications. The resettlement or relocation of migrants across the bloc is expected to be done on a voluntary basis amid the lack of consensus.