Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz proposed to create EU reception centers for refugees outside the borders of the union, for example in Georgia or in the Western Balkans.
The unexpected proposal came duringhis interview withGerman Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
"It is not that important where exactly they [the centers] will be. The important thing is that they [these countries] will ensure protection, and that people who illegally try toget toEurope, will be send back there. The facilities could be placed incountries such asEgypt, Georgia, or somewhere inthe Western Balkans," Kurz toldthe newspaper.
The minister once again criticized the immigration policy ofGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that it led tothe situation which is now hard toresolve.
"This wrong policy was supported bythe heads ofmany states and governments, aswell asthe European Commission. It was based ongood intentions, butfor me it was always clear: if we let people enter Central Europe, there will be more and more ofthem coming," the politician stated.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly been criticized forher open-door policy not only byher opponents, butalso byher supporters. For instance, German Minister ofFinance Wolfgang Schäuble admitted that the German government made a mistake in2015, when it let hundreds ofthousands ofrefugees enter the country.
Merkel herself claimed that the reception ofrefugeeswas the only way tostay true to "European values". However, even she acknowledged that she committed some mistakes "in the past" and promisedtocurb the influx ofmigrantstothe EU.
According toofficial data, German authorities have spent 7.1 billion euro toaddress the migration crisis in2016 alone. Reception, registration, accommodation andintegration ofnewcomerscost Germany an additional 1.4 billion euro.
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