At a recent meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein (picture) and EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, discussed the issue of irregular migration between Iraq and the EU, on the the sidelines of the sixth Brussels Conference for Syria and the region.
In a statement, the Iraqi government mentioned “the latest measures taken by the Iraqi government to help Iraqis wishing to voluntarily return to the homeland”, adding that programmes to encourage the voluntary return of Iraqis whose residency requests had been rejected in European countries must be supported. The government thereby wants returnees to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities. It further specified that it had presented “a summary of the steps taken by the Iraqi government to curb smuggling networks and the role of national authorities to increase societal awareness regarding migration.”
Furthermore, EU Commissioner Johansson praising Iraq’s role in eliminating Daesh.
Last Summer, major tensions erupted between the EU and Belarus, when the European Union urged Iraq to help stem the flow of migrants to Belarus that were being smuggled across the border into Lithuania.
#EU presses Iraq to halt migrant flights to #Belarus https://t.co/VzAW8bBf0D
— Andrej Matisak (@matisaksk) August 6, 2021
During a recent visit to Iraq, German ECR MEP Lars Patrick Berg stated: “Iraq needs the support of the EU now. Security, energy, water, migration and democracy are top of the agenda.”
▶️ #Iraq 🇮🇶 needs support of 🇪🇺 now. #Security,#energy, #water #migration and #democracy are top agenda. Also thanks to General #Iannucci – Commander #NATO Mission Iraq – for his assessment. @IraqNato @EuamIraq @Europarl_EN pic.twitter.com/7zXtnePqAO
— Lars Patrick Berg MdEP (@L_P_Berg) May 23, 2022
Check out this article on European Neighbourhood Monitor about my trip to Iraq: https://t.co/TCaUDudlxU #EU #Iraq @EUinIraq
— Lars Patrick Berg MdEP (@L_P_Berg) May 24, 2022
Picture: Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Mohammed Hussein (copyright: U.S. Department of State from United States – Secretary Pompeo and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein Deliver Opening Remarks at the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96199183 )