Sweden will expel about 60,000 refugees and migrants who arrived in 2015 after their application for asylum was rejected. This number is expected to rise to about 80,000 in the future.
“We are talking about 60,000 people, but the number could climb to 80,000,” Interior Minister Anders Ygeman was quoted as saying by Swedish media.
Ygeman added that the police and authorities in charge of refugees have been asked to organise their expulsion.
Sweden, which is home to 9.8 million people, is one of the European Union countries that has taken in the largest number of refugees in relation to its population.
The number of refugee arrivals has dropped dramatically since Sweden enacted systematic photo ID checks on travellers early this year.
Europe is having problems dealing with a refugee crisis that has seen tens-of-thousands of refugees arrive on Greek beaches with the passengers – mostly fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – undeterred by cold, wintry conditions and deadly seas. The United Nations estimates than almost 50,000 people have arrived in Greece this year.
Ygeman said that the expulsions would be carried out using specially chartered aircrafts due to the large number of refugees to be expelled. The exercise would be staggered over several years.
No comments:
Post a Comment