Poverty In Africa Should Be Tackled As Root Cause Of Illegal Migration To Europe - Kurz

Europe should focus on tackling poverty in Africa, as it is one of the main causes for illegal migration to the EU countries, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said at the High-Level Africa-Europe forum on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2018) Europe should focus on tackling poverty in Africa, as it is one of the main causes for illegal migration to the EU countries, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said at the High-Level Africa-Europe forum on Tuesday.

"I think there is also the need to address the root causes [of illegal migration] and of course one of the root causes of migration is poverty. So with a better economic development, with economic growth rates like you have in Rwanda or Ethiopia of 6-7-8 percent, or in the last years even 10 percent, this is the best way to improve the living conditions for people and this of course will in the long run reduce the flow of migrants coming to Europe," Kurz said during a press conference.

The strengthening of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency's (Frontex) mandate is also expected to help in reducing illegal migration to Europe, the Austrian chancellor added.

On December 7, EU interior ministers agreed to grant Frontex a wider scope for cooperation with third countries on migrant repatriations. The agency will also provide technical and operational support to member states in return operations and assist them in the identification of third country nationals and the acquisition of travel documents.