28-03-2024 09:58 PM Jerusalem Timing

French FM Urges EU to Limit Migrant Numbers

French FM Urges EU to Limit Migrant Numbers

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday urged the European Union to limit the number of migrants it allows into the bloc, following heightened security concerns after the Paris attacks.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday urged the European Union to limit the number of migrants it allows into the bloc, following heightened security concerns after the Paris attacks.

"Europe must say that it can no longer accommodate so many migrants, it is not possible," he said in extracts from a lunch with foreign media published by Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung.

"Controlling the European Union's external borders is essential to the future of the EU. If we don't do that, people will say: 'Enough, Europe!'" he added, in comments confirmed by his entourage.

The EU agreed Friday to rush through reforms to the passport-free Schengen zone by the end of the year during a meeting in Brussels, where France also pushed a controversial scheme to collect data on air passengers.

Paris has also been stepping up efforts to create an international coalition to fight the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, and Valls warned the takfiri group was also a threat to fellow European powers Germany and Italy.

"Europe must find ways to ensure that migrants are dealt with in the countries neighboring Syria. Otherwise, Europe's ability to effectively control its borders is called into question," he said.