Belgium and Sweden called on Wednesday to strengthen the protection of the European Union’s external borders and tighten measures to expel migrants in illegal situations. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stressed the need for “better protection” of the European Union’s external borders, and a “firmer and more coordinated policy to return” those whose requests for asylum to their countries of origin are rejected. This comes two days after an attack that left two dead in Brussels.
Published on: 10/19/2023 – 02:32
3 minutes
After the attack that left two people dead BrusselsOn Wednesday, the Belgian and Swedish prime ministers called for strengthening the protection of the European Union’s external borders and tightening measures to expel migrants in illegal situations.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “We cannot ignore” the fact that the extremist man suspected of killing a Swede on Monday evening “was a person who came from illegal immigration.” .
He continued: “We must address this problem, and we will not be able to do so unless we do it in a coordinated manner,” calling for “better protection” of the European Union’s external borders, and a “firmer and more coordinated policy to return” those whose requests for asylum to their countries of origin are rejected.
The perpetrator of the Brussels attack, who is suspected to be a 48-year-old Tunisian known to the media as Abdel Salam Al-Aswad, was residing illegally in Belgium, after his request for asylum was rejected in 2020 and an order was issued against him to leave the territory, which was not implemented.
A few hours before a football match between the Belgium and Sweden teams in the qualifiers for the European Cup 2024, two Swedish fans were shot dead and a third injured before fleeing on a motorcycle, in an attack that apparently occurred against the backdrop of the burning of the Qur’an in Sweden, which sparked waves of anger in the country. Arab world.
The Swedish Prime Minister said: “Resoluteness in defending democracy, tolerance, openness and freedom also requires us to be firm on the security level.”
Kristersson added: “We must be able to protect our borders. We must know who is in Sweden, whether legally or illegally. And if there are people who are not here legally, they must be forced to leave the country.”
Von der Leyen called for tightening European regulations “urgently,” and said: “The Commission proposed that if there is a person who poses a threat to national security, member states must be able to force him to leave,” explaining that this measure is included in the Asylum and Migration Charter. Being negotiated in the European Union.
So far this year, 65,000 people have been deported from the European Union, while about 400,000 orders to leave the territories are issued per year, according to European Commission figures.
France 24/AFP
2023-10-19 00:32:25
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