Austrian official pleased with outcome from Paris refugee summit

Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said on Tuesday that he was pleased with the outcome of Monday's refugee summit in Paris involving European and African leaders, calling it a significant step forward.

Austria Press Agency quoted the minister as saying that the decision to tackle the problems closer to the source, that would include the creation of hotspots in African countries where asylum applications can be made, is the correct one.

This would mean the European Union will once again "have control over migration," and as a result the "senseless deaths in the Mediterranean" can be ended.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka shared similar views, saying that if a decision on the right to asylum is already made in Africa, people smugglers are no longer able to make false promises, and their business will as a result be negatively impacted.

The leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Italy on Monday vowed to strengthen support for African countries in an effort to stem illegal migration. The leaders issued a joint statement Monday evening following a meeting in Paris on migration, in which they were joined by their counterparts of Niger and Chad, along with head of Libya's United Nations (UN)-backed government and foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU).

Source: Xinhua