The
issue of whether to deport Gambians or any other migrants from Europe is not
decided by the European Union, the EU Ambassador clarified.
Speaking
at a press meeting on Wednesday, Ambassador Attila Lajos said deportation from
Europe is decided by individual European countries and the country of origin of
the migrant. It is an issue of bilateral
arrangement that the countries decide at their levels and the EU does not
intervene or interfere with that arrangement.
Although
the EU has continued to pump billions of dalasi to The Gambia under the new
leadership, the ambassador said there is no condition, clause or article that
obliges the Banjul government to repatriate its citizen from Europe.
“Migrants
that exhaust their legal remedies, including the right of appeal, and could not
still be granted legal documents to stay in Europe should be deported, by law,”
Ambassador Lajos said. “But the
deportation of such migrants is now left out to the bilateral agreement between
the host country [the European country] and the country of origin of the
migrant.”
Even
though he is an EU ambassador, he did not know entirely the number of people
deported from the individual European countries.
“However,
I can tell you the number of migrants sent back from Europe is very small
compared to the number of migrants that exhaust their legal remedies and are
still living in Europe,” he said.
However,
in May this year – barely four months after EU pledged €75 million euros
immediate support and €150 million euros longer term help to Barrow’s
government – six Gambians were returned from Europe through a flight financed
by the EU border agency, FrontEx.
Three
of the six are from Germany, and the other three from Sweden and they were
escorted by EU federal police officers.
Also,
in April, two Gambians were returned from Germany, and in June, one Gambian was
deported from the UK.
Saikou
Ceesay, communications officer of the Ministry of Affairs and Gambians Abroad,
said The Gambia government would comply with due processes that led to the
deportation or return of Gambians.
“But
the government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, would not also
hesitate to challenge any undue process that must have led to the deportation
of any Gambian from anywhere in the world,” he said.
“The
Gambia government is not a signatory to any policy document that would warrant
the deportation of its citizens from anywhere in the world.”
Mr
Ceesay refuted the information that the government had signed deportation
agreement with the EU as part of the EU aid support package to the government.
Meanwhile,
through an EU-funded project to strengthen the management and governance of
migration and the sustainable reintegration of returning migrants in The
Gambia, at least 300 Gambian migrants are to be deported from Europe.
According
to the project documents, a total of 1,200 Gambian migrants should return from
across Africa while 300 Gambians among them should return from Europe but would
benefit from reintegration assistance.
