Swiss minister calls for joint European asylum policy

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter says Switzerland supports the European Union’s plans to boost security within the single-border Schengen area.

She said improving coordination on asylum issues between the 26 Schengen states, including Switzerland, and securing the external borders is in the interest of the Alpine nation.

She said Switzerland was in favour of system that fairly distributes asylum seekers between Schengen countries. She pointed out that Switzerland had taken in more than 700 asylum seekers from camps in Greece since the beginning of last year.

Switzerland is among six countries that have criticised the Greek government’s failure to handle asylum requests correctly.

Keller-Sutter said about 17,000 people have submitted an asylum request in Switzerland since last July, although they were registered by Greece.

Around 3,000 asylum seekers transited through Switzerland on their way to Germany over the past few months, according to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The government in Athens has rejected the allegations, calling for a reform of the European asylum system.