UK’s Hammond says African migrants threaten EU social structure

LONDON – Migrants from Africa threaten the European Union’s living standards and its social structure, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday, saying the bloc was unable to take in millions of people seeking a new life.

Hammond, speaking while visiting Singapore, was talking about efforts by people fleeing instability in the Middle East and Africa to resettle inside the EU, some of whom try to reach Britain via the Channel Tunnel from France.

“We have got to be able to resolve this problem ultimately by being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back to their countries of origin,” Hammond told BBC TV.

But EU laws meant migrants were “pretty confident” they would never be returned to their country of origin, he said.

“That is not a sustainable situation because Europe can’t protect itself and preserve its standard of living and social structure, if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa,” said Hammond.