EU gets tough on African migrants

European Union leaders are getting tough on African migrants after successfully halting an influx of refugees by closing Greek borders and sealing a controversial deal with Turkey.

A summit to be held in Brussels on Thursday is expected to endorse pilot projects which will pressure African governments to slow the exodus of people from the continent.

The tough measures to be implemented by the European Union will identify illegal migrants who will be flown back to Africa before next year’s migration season-when thousands are expected to engage in dangerous trips across the Mediterranean using boats from Libya.

A senior EU diplomat told the Reuters news agency they hope to start seeing results by the end of the year.

Statistics show that migrant arrivals this year are nearly six percent higher than the same period of 2015.