EU Signs Deal With Mali To Enable Return Of Migrants

The European Union has announced that they have signed a deal with Mali, that would effectively enable the return of migrants from the country that have fled to the EU and whose asylum requests have been denied.

The idea with the deal between the EU and Mali, is to take care of the root of the problem that is causing the people of Mali to flee their home country and head to Europe.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry signed the deal with Mali on behalf of the European Union. A statement by the ministry read as follows:

“…It is the first time the EU establishes such a precise mechanism with an African country with regards to returning failed asylum seekers,” a part of the statement read.

It further said that the deal was there to address the root causes of the issue as well as to “enable the return from Europe of Malian migrants,”.

The deal is a result of an agreement reaches at a summit in Valletta in November 2015, where members of the EU agreed to set up a $1.9 billion fund to help the African countries. In turn, the participating African countries would set up border control stations where they would accept those who return home after failed asylum requests.