The European Union on Monday formally launched talks with Pakistan on migration, including smuggling and readmission, the EU delegation to Pakistan said.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson traveled to Islamabad over the weekend to spearhead efforts to end, due to security concerns, unchecked migration to the EU. “In a first, the European Union and Pakistan agreed to launch a comprehensive dialogue on migration and mobility,” the EU delegation said in a statement.
During the meeting, Johansson raised “irregular migration and migrant smuggling, and continued enhanced cooperation on return, readmission and reintegration.”
Tens of thousands of illegal migrants try to reach the European Union from Pakistan every year through Turkey and Iran, according to Pakistani estimates. Many of them are Afghans, as Pakistan is hosting three million Afghans, including 1.3 million refugees that fled the country after the US troop withdrawal.
