French President Emmanuel Macron said today that his country does not support the creation of the so-called “return centers” of migrants in third countries, questioning their effectiveness, although he added that he respected countries that want to establish such centers, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“We are for a more effective return policy, but I have never seen a return center in a third country that really works”, Macron said at the end of a two-day EU summit in Brussels.
The European Parliament earlier this week approved a reform of the migration regime that would speed up deportations and allow the creation of detention centers outside EU territory - a move that critics say is harsh and weakens asylum guarantees.
Macron questioned whether these centers were in line with European values.
“I am not sure that our Europe supports this. "I'm not sure that these are the fundamental principles on which our Europe is built and I don't think they are effective," he added.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at a press conference after the EU summit that Spain was also against such centers, but was in the minority on this issue in Europe.
He added that the return centers "would only waste economic resources, which Europe does not have much to spare."