MEPs pressure Belgium on Afghan asylum seekers in Brussels / Migration debate in Belgium

According to EUObserver on the 24 January 2014, two members of the European Parliament from the GUE group, Gabi Zimmer and Alda Sousa, were seeking parliament-wide support to pressure the Belgian government not to expel Afghans living rough in a Brussels-city-centre church.

During the previous two months, some 200 Afghans had been living it rough at the 17th century Beguinage Church in central Brussels.

According to Euronews on the 30 January 2014, some 2,712 citizens of other EU countries wereasked to leave Belgium for being an unreasonable burden on the welfare system. The number of people being told to go has more than tripled in three years.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Trapped inside Europe: Undocumented migrants unable to leave http://www.europeansources.info/record/trapped-inside-europe-undocumented-migrants-unable-to-leave/

ESO: Background information: Irregular immigration in the EU: Some national perspectives on arrival of immigrants http://www.europeansources.info/record/irregular-immigration-in-the-eu-some-national-perspectives-on-arrival-of-immigrants/

Euronews, 30.01.14: Belgium sends ‘burden’ EU citizens letters asking them to leave the country http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/30/belgium-sends-burden-eu-citizens-letters-asking-them-to-leave-the-country/

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