BERLIN (AP) – The top security officials of Germany, France and Britain are pressing for better processing of migrants arriving in southern Europe and for a European Union-wide list of countries considered safe.
Interior ministers Thomas de Maiziere of Germany, Bernard Cazeneuve of France and Theresa May of Britain issued a statement Sunday after consulting in Paris the previous day. They stressed the need to set up “hot spots” in Greece and Italy by the year’s end to ensure migrants are fingerprinted and registered, allowing authorities to identify quickly those in need of protection.
The interior ministers called for a special meeting of EU interior and justice ministers in the next two weeks. De Maiziere said that “we have no more time to lose” and the EU can’t wait until the next regular meeting of the ministers scheduled for early October.
Germany, which has seen many asylum requests this year from Balkan countries, is keen to identify “safe” countries to ease returning rejected asylum applicants.
“So that we can help those in need, we must also tell those who are not in need that they can’t stay with us,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the chancellery in Berlin Sunday during an annual government open day. Those who do need protection should be integrated more quickly “into our life,” while those who don’t should be sent home quickly, she added.