EU seeks Africa money to pay for migrant screening centres

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is urging EU member countries to put more money into an Africa trust fund as the bloc looks to set up migrant screening centres outside Europe.

Mogherini said Monday that the fund “has proven to be useful, it has brought results and this is why we are asking for more money from member states.”

EU leaders are set later this week to greenlight plans to screen migrants for eligibility as asylum-seekers at centres in countries including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia.

The plans mirror a deal that the EU clinched with Turkey in 2015 aimed at encouraging Ankara to stop refugees setting out for the Greek islands. That deal has cost more than 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion).