‘EU should pay more to return African migrants home’

The European Union should step up funding for the United Nation’s migration agency to return migrants stranded in Libya to their home countries further south in Africa, the bloc’s current president says. The proposal by Malta, a frontline state for migrants, was presented to the other 27 members of the bloc earlier in February, and […]

The European Union should step up funding for the United Nation’s migration agency to return migrants stranded in Libya to their home countries further south in Africa, the bloc’s current president says.

The proposal by Malta, a frontline state for migrants, was presented to the other 27 members of the bloc earlier in February, and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Some 1.6 million refugees and migrants reached Europe via the Mediterranean in 2014-2016. Italy, as well as Malta, bears much of the immediate burden of dealing with African migrants who leave the lawless Libya on unfit boats.

Malta’s proposal comes ahead of a summit of the bloc’s 28 national leaders next week who will look at putting into practice agreements on new steps to stem African immigration.

The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates there are between 700,000 and one million migrants in Libya. It aims to help 7,000 people stranded there go back home this year, more than doubling its return program from 2016.