Egypt rejects EU plan to force refugees into camps
The debate over the European Union’s plan to set up centers for migrants in North Africa and the Middle East has been rekindled in Egypt, where officials reiterated their rejection of such centers.
Egypt recently renewed its refusal to set up so-called migrant reception centers on its lands over legal considerations. This rejection rekindled debate over the European Union’s plan to establish refugee camps in Africa and the Middle East in a bid to screen and stem the flow of migrants attempting to leave for Europe. Egypt's refusal has compounded the EU’s refugee problem, piling more pressure on its leaders, who are racing against time to make a tangible breakthrough in refugee-related talks.
The EU seeks to establish these centers in Egypt to hamper the flow of migrants to Europe via the Mediterranean. On July 1, Egyptian parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag during a visit to Berlin that building refugee camps affiliated to the EU in Egypt would "violate the laws and constitution of our country.”
Legal migrants, he noted, can live freely wherever they want in Egypt and can't be forced to live in certain centers.
The proposal comes within the framework of the EU’s controversial plan to build regional "reception centers" in North Africa in hopes of putting the brakes on the influx of migrants and asylum seekers and foiling the attempts of human traffickers to send migrants to Europe across the sea. The deal, announced June 29 by EU leaders after their emergency meeting in Brussels, also includes building “controlled camps” in European countries.
