The European Union could finalize the proposal for the creation of so-called “return centers” for illegal migrants by March, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.
He made these statements after a meeting in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, also a conservative. The two leaders called for the European Union to intensify its efforts to combat illegal migration.
The rise in support for far-right parties in Europe has resulted in migration becoming a central issue on political agendas.
EU leaders said in October that they were examining a scheme under which migrants who do not have the right to stay in the European bloc would be sent to various centers deemed safe outside the EU’s territory.
Kristersson stated that he had discussed the plan with EU Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, who assured him that the proposal would be finalized this spring.
“There is a kind of momentum now,” Kristersson said.
Nehammer congratulated Kristersson for keeping the migration issue high on the EU agenda, noting that 18 countries within the Schengen Area, including Switzerland and Norway, share a common interest in tackling the migration wave.
The Austrian Chancellor said that governments expressing concern have “completely changed” the discussion around migration, so that countries with no external borders in the EU, such as Austria, are more involved in discussions on the matter.
“Only when we realize that this problem must be solved together, will we have the chance to make progress,” he added. /REL
