EU escalates row with Gambia over expelled migrants

The European Union is mulling over Gambia’s decision to deny landing permits to flights carrying Gambian deportees from EU countries — particularly Germany. More than 2,000 Gambian migrants who have exhausted their asylum appeals in Germany are awaiting repatriation.

According to initial plans, the first batch of “failed Gambian asylum-seekers” was expected to arrive in Banjul, Gambia’s capital, on September 1. But an official from Gambia’s Foreign Ministry responsible for diaspora affairs told local media that Gambia’s new position is not to accept requests for deportations. Gambia has cited security concerns and the inability to reintegrate as reasons for its decision.

The European Union plans to tighten visa requirements for Gambian nationals — a decision that may affect the entire African continent.

A file photo of Migrants at the Temporary Centre for Immigrants (CETI) in Melilla, Spanish enclave on the north of Africa after they jumped the fence at the border between Melilla and Morocco. EPA-EFE/F.G. GUERRERO

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