Prime Minister Sarradsch: Libya rejects EU refugee centers

In the struggle for solutions in refugee policy, the EU also plays with the idea of ​​detention centers outside its own borders – for example in Libya. But his head of government, Sarradsch, rejects the idea.

The Libyan leader Fajes al-Sarradsch is clearly expressed in an interview with the newspaper "Bild" against the EU refugee reception centers in his country. "This will not happen with us," said the head of the national unity government supported by the international community in Libya.

"No agreement with the EU"

"We absolutely oppose what Europe is officially illegal to have in the EU," said Sarradsch . He is "very surprised that in Europe, no one wants to bring more migrants, but is asking us to bring over hundreds of thousands of people here." His country has already opened shelters for tens of thousands of refugees, but hundreds of thousands of clandestine migrants are already living in Libya.

Money is also not a motivation for Sarradsch: Libya will not do business with the EU. Instead, he called on the EU to exert pressure in the countries where the refugees would come from. After all, Libya is only a transit country on the refugee route to the west.

The head of government also called on European politicians to come to Libya to get a better idea of ​​the situation there. More specifically, he called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to pay a quick visit to her country. Sarradsch argued that understanding the conditions in his country was also important in order to better combat the international network of human smugglers.

Sarradsch steps behind the Coast Guard

He also used the interview to accuse the Libyan Coast Guard of allegations against the Spanish aid organization "Proactiva Open Arms" , according to which the Coast Guard would have left behind two women and a child on the high seas during a mission. Sarradsch called these allegations "outrageous" and false. "We save hundreds of people off the coast of Libya every day," he said. However, his country's Coast Guard needed more technical and financial support for their use.