Last month Merkel said that the EU should reach agreements with North African countries like Egypt and Tunisia in order to control migration across the Mediterranean. These are mechanisms which we also need to introduce regarding other countries, for example Egypt or Tunisia," Merkel announced. "The EU pays Turkey three billion euros ($3.4 billion), which includes payment for the schooling and housing of refugees. A new approach to Africa is a "strategically highly important issue," the German Chancellor told German newspaper Die Zeit on Wednesday. "If you ask me whether closing the Balkan route has solved the problem, I would say clearly not," Merkel told Die Zeit.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 08, 2016 15:00 UTC