Support mounts for EU asylum camps in Africa

BUILDING camps in African and other countries to hold would-be asylum seekers before they could reach Europe appeared to be gaining support from EU Justice Ministers meeting in The Hague yesterday.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he had an open mind on the matter and was waiting to hear all the arguments for and against before coming to a decision.

He was supportive generally of a so-called white list of countries from which people could not claim to need asylum.