Saturday, April 21, 2007
E.U. - no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees
Humanitarian
(AP) - European Union nations said Friday there was no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees, agreeing only to consider sending more humanitarian aid to Syria and Jordan to take in Iraqis. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters that EU justice and interior ministers did not consider the current refugee crisis urgent enough for Europe to open its doors to more asylum-seekers from Iraq.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
Labels: E.U., Franco Frattini, humanitarian aid, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, UNHCR, Wolfgang Schaeuble
