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EU Looks to Egypt for Help With Mediterranean Migration

September 21, 2018
4/Hundreds of refugees and migrants aboard a fishing boat are pictured moments before being rescued by the Italian Navy as part of their Mare Nostrum operation in June 2014. Among recent and highly visible consequences of conflicts around the world, and the suffering they have caused, has been a dramatic growth in the number of refugees seeking safety by undertaking dangerous sea journeys, including on the Mediterranean. The Italian Coastguard / Massimo Sestini

Austrian Chancellor Sebastien Kurz urged his European partners on Thursday to begin talks with Egypt to help solve Europe’s migration crisis coming from Africa, as reported by the Associated Press. President of the European Council Donald Tusk is scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi at the UN general assembly next week to further discuss the matter. The decision comes after 600 migrants were left stranded at sea this summer when Italy decided to close its own coast guard and its ports to NGO ships, which left EU countries in dispute on who should take them. “Egypt has proven that it can be efficient,” Kurz told reporters at an EU summit, “since 2016, it has prevented ships sailing from Egypt to Europe, or when they have sailed, it has taken them back”. Incentives for Egypt include financial support, economic partnerships and investment by European companies. “This is the first country in North Africa willing to talk to us about the fight against illegal migration,” noted one EU diplomat according to AP, “this is something new and potentially rewarding”. There are plans by the EU to also approach other African…


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