LUXEMBOURG: The European Union nations agreed on Thursday to speed up the deportation of people whose asylum applications were rejected, as they took a harder line towards tackling the worst migration crisis since World War II.

Interior ministers from the 28-nation bloc endorsed a dedicated programme to send back those they desc­ribed as economic migrants — who are largely from poor African nations — and not refugees from conflict-torn Middle East countries.

After months of tensions over the wave of nearly 600,000 people who have flooded into Europe this year, the EU is now taking a tougher stance by focusing on tightening border controls and reducing the incentive for people to come to the continent in the first place.

“Those who do not require international protection must return to their countries of origin,” Luxembourg minister Jean Asselborn, whose country holds the EU presidency, told reporters after the talks.

Only about 40 per cent of the people ordered to leave after rejection of their asylum applications actually left or were deported from Europe, he said.

“We need to crack down on people abusing our asylum system,” British Home Secretary Theresa May said as she arrived at the talks.

Ten return flights from Europe would now take place this month, Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

The ministers suggested they would use European development funds as leverage to ensure that countries of origin — mainly those in Africa — would take back economic migrants after they were deported.

Published in Dawn October 9th, 2015

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