Oral Answers to Questions

Karen Lumley Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are very glad that the Minister is spending his time in the Foreign Office so profitably and is becoming so learned.

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recent steps to reduce migration to Europe through the western Balkans.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

Since agreement was reached between the EU and Turkey on additional measures to control migration to Europe, we have seen a very significant reduction in the number of migrants arriving in Greece and transiting through the western Balkans.

[Karen Lumley]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the root cause of the migration pushing people through the Balkans has been the civil war in Syria? Does he agree that this country must certainly never be part of the Schengen area, which could allow people to be pushed to the UK?

[Mr Hammond]

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend’s point. Of course we must not be part of the Schengen area. We will not be part of the Schengen area, and thanks to the special arrangements we have negotiated with the European Union, we are able to enjoy the benefits of membership without being forced to take part in the passport-free area.

I would say to my hon. Friend that although the Syrian civil war was clearly the immediate cause of the flow of refugees that Europe faced, primarily last year, statistics show that about 50% of those arriving in Greece are actually not from Syria or the surrounding area but come from further afield. What started as an exodus from the Syrian civil war and the Daesh occupation has become a wider movement of people.