African countries to be offered CASH if they take back illegal immigrants who have reached Europe

The European Union is to offer money and visas to African countries which agree to take back thousands of illegal immigrants. Plans have been drawn up for Brussels to bankroll a package of support for which will encourage the ‘return and sustainable reintegration of irregular migrants’.

But in return some countries will agree to let thousands of well-qualified African doctors, students and entrepreneurs into the EU, in a move branded ‘madness’.

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The European Union is to offer money and visas to African countries which agree to take back thousands of illegal immigrants 

EU leaders have struggled to find a way to deal with the hundreds of thousands of extra people who have arrived on the continent’s shores this year, with many more expected over the next two years.

Germany sparked outrage when it agreed to open its doors to Syria refugees feeling the war in their home country, which critics said would encourage many more to try to make the perilous sea crossing which has seen many people drown.

Now a plan has been drawn up to encourage African countries to take back their citizens who have reached the EU illegally, the Telegraph reported.

Those returned would have to be treated with ‘human dignity’ and not sent back to a country where they face persecution.

As part of the deal, the EU would set up a trust fund worth £1.3billion for countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. The draft plan has circulated ahead of a summit on migration this week in Valletta, Malta.

It calls for ‘strengthening cooperation with key countries of origin and transit in order to facilitate the return and sustainable reintegration of irregular migrants’.

It stresses the ‘obligation of each state under international law to readmit its own nationals in full respect of human dignity’ as well as the ‘principle of non‐refoulement’ which prevents the persecuted behind handed over to their persecutor.

As part of the plan, the packages for ‘safe return and reintegration’ will be matched by the promise of ‘possible visa facilitation’ for well-qualified Africans to work in the EU.

African college qualifications for “one or more professions” could be recognised by EU countries.

Britain is not part of the Schengen common migration zone in the EU, which means that it would not have to sign up to the visa deal. But the plan to try to persuade African countries to take back their citizens demonstrates the increasing desperation of Brussels to find a long-term solution to the crisis. Ukip leader Nigel Farage said on Twitter: 'The EU’s way to stop illegal mass migration from Africa is to make it legal. This is sheer madness.'

Last week the EU warned that three million migrants are expected to arrive in Europe by the end of 2017. 

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Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the plan to allow more African people into the EU legally under a shake-up of the visa regime was 'sheer madness' In a bombshell report, EU economists predicted the crisis would get even worse with a 50 per cent rise in the numbers pouring in next year.

The European Commission claimed the ‘unprecedented influx’ of migrants could help boost the economy, but critics warned they needed to get a grip of the chaos.

‘Overall, an additional three million persons is assumed to arrive in the EU over the forecast period,’ the European Commission’s economic forecast for 2015-2017 said.

It predicted there would be no let-up in arrivals until the end of next year, with one million in total during 2015, soaring to 1.5 million in 2016 and then decreasing to half a million in 2017.

The Commission claimed this would represent a 0.4 per cent EU population increase once unsuccessful asylum applications were taken into account. The warning came as the Government minister in charge of Britain’s international response said the migration crisis engulfing Europe is likely to last for 20 years. 

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the humanitarian crisis in Syria was so severe that it was unlikely many refugees would return home within two decades.

She also condemned Russia’s air strikes in the war-zone, claiming the controversial bombardment had worsened the crisis by forcing even more Syrians to flee in search of sanctuary.

And she blasted Western countries for failing to ‘step up to the plate’ and properly fund the aid mission to the region – or face more displaced people trying to make the treacherous trip to Europe.

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