Germany Returning Migrants to Spain

       edited:APC             foto:DPA

BERLIN, August 3 – Berlin and Madrid have reached an agreement that Spain will receive back migrants who are at the German border that were previously registered in that country, mentioned today. (English version below)

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Eleonora Peterman said today that according to the agreement, which will begin on Saturday, migrants registered in Spain will be returned to the country from the German border within 48 hours, the Associated Press reported.

Peterman claims that Madrid did not ask for anything in return and added that they were talking about a similar practice with Greece and Italy, from which there are more migrants coming to Germany, than from Spain.

German Interior Minister Horst Zehofer threatened in June that Germany will unilaterally return from its border the migrants already registered in another country, while Chancellor Angela Merkel insists Germany will reach agreements on this issue with other countries, and recently such an agreement has also been reached with Austria.

Just two days earlier, the European Commission has announced that it will send Spain an emergency aid of several tens of millions of euros in order to better cope with the influx of migrants coming to its shores from Morocco, sources close to the EU said today.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has asked for some earlier help of 30 million euros from the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the French press said the same sources, adding that the aid will be sent in the coming days.

Greece similarly has help from that fund, which it asked for a month ago to better face migrants on the border with Turkey.

More than 20,000 migrants arrived in Spain since the beginning of the year.