While agreement between the EU and Turkey can reduce the asylum influx for Europe in general, the result for Norway may be the opposite, UDI chief Frode Forfang thinks.
– Europe in general will get fewer refugees, Norway may get more if the Scandinavian border controls are taken down, director Frode Forfang of Immigration (UDI) says to the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.
He does not want to say how many refugees he thinks that may come to Norway when an agreement has been made between the EU and Turkey.
– Given that the EU will come to an agreement, and there are many conflicting views on this subject in EU righ now, a lot will be at stake in Europe in relation to Turkey. It’s hard to say what the overall effect will be for Norway, but we have to be prepared for large fluctuations in the numbers over time, says Forfang.
The Immigration head stressed that much remains uncertain ahead of the summit, which begins Thursday and is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
– The EU is attempting to gain control of asylum seekers arriving and the border with Turkey, and if this happens, it quickly becomes a requirement and an expectation that the Schengen Agreement will be functioning again, and that you cancel the border controls.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
