Most fleeing to Europe are ‘not refugees’, EU official says - IrishTimes

Dutch commissioner Frans Timmermans says 60% of arrivals are economic migrants

More than half of those fleeing to Europe from the Middle East and Africaare economic migrants and not asylum seekers fleeing the horrors of war inIraq or Syria, according to first vice-president of the European Commission,Frans Timmermans.

Quoting what he said were new, unpublished, figures from the EU border agency, Frontex, Mr Timmermans said: “More than half of the people now coming to Europe come from countries where you can assume they have no reason whatsoever to ask for refugee status … more than half, 60 percent.”

Those 60 percent were predominantly from north Africa, mainly Moroccans or Tunisians who were leaving their own countries for “economic reasons” and attempting to travel to Europe through Turkey, the former Netherlandsforeign minister told the Dutch national broadcaster, NOS

If the figures used by Mr Timmermans are correct, they could change the complexion of the political debate over how many migrants EU countries are expected to resettle, though there remains the problem that any migrant who reaches European soil is difficult to repatriate.

Acknowledging this, the only immediate option, Mr Timmermans said, was to return economic migrants to their countries of origin as quickly as possible in order to maintain support for refugee relief – in other words, for people genuinely fleeing war.

Six EU member states, including Germany and Austria, have already reinstated temporary border controls for up to six months, and on Monday the European Commission was asked to prepare measures to allow member states to prolong temporary controls for up to two years.

However, Mr Timmermans – who warned before Christmas that he was concerned about the future of the European Union – rejected border closures, even temporary ones, as “an enormous risk”. - Read More

Most fleeing to Europe are 'not refugees', EU official says

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