Libya rejects EU migrant plan

Libya's Prime Minister, Fayez al-Sarraj

The Libyan foreign minister has said his country opposes a European Union plan to set up assessment centers for migrants outside the EU's territory.

The plan was drawn up by EU leaders last June, as Italy called for more controls on migration flows.

But the Libyan minister, Mohamed al-Taher Siala, has now told an Austrian newspaper that all North African countries reject the idea of so-called disembarkation platforms on their territory.

He said that instead, Libya was working with its southern neighbours to reinforce their common borders.

In July, President Emmanuel Macron of France said the EU's plan for the centers in North Africa would not work unless those countries led the initiative.