(AP) European Union auditors said Monday that the 27-nation bloc’s program for deporting migrants is not working well but they warned that any attempts to force countries to take their citizens back by coercion could be counterproductive.
The EU has been deeply divided over how best to manage the arrival of unauthorized migrants since well over 1 million people entered in 2015, most of them Syrians and Iraqis arriving in Greece in search of sanctuary in Europe.
But most EU nations agree that the focus should be on stopping migrants from entering in the first place by sealing deals with countries they came from or transit through, and on deporting more who are not entitled to stay.
