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European Commissioner Backs Sanctions on EU States Denying Asylum to Migrants

PARIS (Sputnik) - European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said on Monday that he supported possible financial restrictions against the states refusing to accept refugees.
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"I rather support," Moscovici told the BFMTV broadcaster.

The commissioner also said that the crisis is more of a political nature than of a migrant one.

"The most severe migrant crisis is behind us, it's a fact. In 2015, there were more than a million people who came to our continent and requested asylum. They mostly came to Greece from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan," Moscovici specified.

According to the commissioner, the number of migrants arriving in Europe has been decreasing since 2016. In 2016, about 369,000 migrants came to Europe, while in 2017, the number fell to about 140,000 people, bringing the arrivals back to the pre-crisis level. Since the beginning of this year, 28,000 migrants are estimated to have come to Europe, Moscovici said.

READ MORE: Merkel Says Undocumented Migrants Should Have 'No Choice' of Asylum Country

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On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that migrant pressure on Europe is not similar to the one in 2015 and the countries which claim so "do not tell the truth." Macron expressed his support for imposing sanctions on the EU states which refuse accepting migrants.

Citing unequal distribution of responsibility for migrant arrivals among the European Union, several European countries are pursuing a hard-line policy on migration. Last week, Hungarian parliament adopted the controversial "Stop Soros" law which criminalizes helping migrants to lodge asylum claims and informing them of their options.

At the same time, earlier this month, Italy and Malta refused to accept over 600 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the Aquarius vessel. 

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