In June, around 6,000 migrants crossed from Africa to Spain by sea, and in the first five months of this year, 19,000 arrived, the same number that arrived throughout the entire last year. This number has for the first time surpassed the number of migrants who arrived in Italy from North Africa during the same period.
>>>Border closure: Italy refuses to accept a ship with migrants
“If the numbers continue to rise, this route will become the most important,” said Fabrice Leggeri, director of the European agency Frontex, in an interview with German media.
European plans to close migration routes across Europe could create pressure on the route from Africa to Spain, Leggeri said – “If you ask me what worries me the most at this moment – I would say Spain.”
The interior ministers of Germany, Italy, and Austria will meet next week in Innsbruck to discuss “measures to close the route across the Mediterranean,” said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The Italian government has proposed reception centers in Africa.
Leggeri said he would support such centers, adding that migrants could not count on being taken to Europe after being rescued.
Austria wants asylum seekers to submit their applications outside the European Union
Austria proposes that asylum seekers in the future submit their applications outside the European Union and that they be allowed to do so on the territory of some member states only in exceptional cases, reported the Austrian weekly Profil on Saturday.
EU member states, divided over immigration issues, agreed in June to process asylum applications in the Mediterranean, including in Africa, and to share responsibility for rescued migrants.
Germany, Italy, and Austria plan to hold talks next week on how to close the Mediterranean route through which tens of thousands of migrants come from Africa to Europe, a situation that Rome describes as urgent and “dangerous.”
The dispute in Germany over migration issues has threatened the coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel in recent days and strained German-Austrian relations.
In a document from the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, which calls for a new “protection system,” it is requested that “asylum applications cannot be submitted on European soil,” writes Profil.
>>>Austria sent tents for migrants to Bosnia; Kurz: We need a functional external border
Austria presented this proposal at a meeting of EU officials at the civil service level, the weekly reports without specifying where the meeting took place.
Only at “hot spots” outside the EU can people in need of protection be selected and subsequently transferred to Union countries, Profil reports citing the document.
The weekly also writes that the Austrian proposal calls for asylum to be granted only to those “who respect the values of the EU, its fundamental rights, and fundamental freedoms.”
The Ministry of the Interior and the spokesperson for the Austrian government were not available for comment.
In Spain by inflatable boats
On Saturday, Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero unexpectedly visited Libya, where he met with members of the Libyan government to discuss Italian support for “legitimate Libyan institutions” and “strategic partnership” on issues such as migration, economy, and security, the ministry announced.
European officials emphasize that the total number of migrants coming from Africa to Europe is declining and that the route from Morocco to Spain has been under control for years.
>>>Albanian connection: The number of migrants is increasing on the new Balkan route
Most migrants arrive in Spain by inflatable boats, often without enough fuel, which puts additional pressure on the Spanish coast guard, and among the migrants, there has recently been an increasing number of Pakistanis and residents of Sri Lanka, indicating that human traffickers have shifted their focus to Spain.
Morocco has announced that it is strengthening efforts to prevent illegal migration this summer
