On Thursday, France and Britain announced a joint security operation to prevent thousands of refugees living in makeshift camps in Calais from entering the UK through the Channel Tunnel.
The UN Refugee Agency who had called for a comprehensive response several weeks ago citing worsening conditions for refugees in Calais, praised the statement for providing some measures addressing the human rights concerns of refugees including a pledge by Britain to provide $5.6 million a year for the next two years to identify the most vulnerable refugees for asylum.
On the same day, Germany’s Interior Minister criticized Europe’s failure to tackle the refugee crisis on the same day that Macedonia declared a state of emergency declaring it would deploy military to its southern border with Greece and its northern frontier with Serbia in order to prevent refugees from entering.
After meeting with his French counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere said to reporters, “it's unacceptable for the European institutions to keep working at the speed they have.”
Germany has expressed its anger that countries like Greece and Italy are ignoring the rule that refugees must seek asylum in the first EU country they arrive in.
While many of the wealthier nations of the EU focus on adopting measures to keep refugees out, thousands of people continue to make the perilous journey fleeing dire conditions in war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and most notably, Syria. Just this week, at least 40 asylum-seekers were found dead on a boat in the Mediterranean sea north of Libya, with another 320 people on board.
The UN Refugee Agency who had called for a comprehensive response several weeks ago citing worsening conditions for refugees in Calais, praised the statement for providing some measures addressing the human rights concerns of refugees including a pledge by Britain to provide $5.6 million a year for the next two years to identify the most vulnerable refugees for asylum.
On the same day, Germany’s Interior Minister criticized Europe’s failure to tackle the refugee crisis on the same day that Macedonia declared a state of emergency declaring it would deploy military to its southern border with Greece and its northern frontier with Serbia in order to prevent refugees from entering.
After meeting with his French counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere said to reporters, “it's unacceptable for the European institutions to keep working at the speed they have.”
Germany has expressed its anger that countries like Greece and Italy are ignoring the rule that refugees must seek asylum in the first EU country they arrive in.
While many of the wealthier nations of the EU focus on adopting measures to keep refugees out, thousands of people continue to make the perilous journey fleeing dire conditions in war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and most notably, Syria. Just this week, at least 40 asylum-seekers were found dead on a boat in the Mediterranean sea north of Libya, with another 320 people on board.