Sweden’s PM Calls for Urgent Review of Asylum Policies
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The appropriate Swedish authorities should urgently review the country's asylum policies with a view to speeding up the process of accommodating refugees, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Friday.
"We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of refugees seeking asylum. That's why I have told Migration Minister Morgan Johansson to urgently review what steps need to be taken," Lofven told the TT newswire, as quoted by The Local.
He added that the ministry should increase its coordination with the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and local authorities, to ensure the new arrivals are provided with places to live faster.
"People need to get roofs over their heads and the children have to start school," the prime minister stressed.
According to Sweden's Migration Board, 74,000 refugees are expected to arrive in the country in 2015. Some of those who have already arrived in Sweden have reportedly complained about encountering difficulties in accessing housing and long asylum application review times.
Europe is currently struggling with the largest migrant crisis since World War II. Many refugees, primarily from war-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa, are trying to reach prosperous EU countries, such as Germany and Sweden to apply for asylum.