Welcome! Germany Expects French Requests for Relocation of Calais Migrants

Germany could take back migrants from the Calais refugee camp if it was the first EU country they entered on the way to France, officials at the German office said Tuesday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — As French authorities started the demolition of the controversial camp near the Channel Tunnel, some 7,000 refugees are expected to be bused to other shelters in France, while the most vulnerable will go to the United Kingdom.

Sources at Germany’s Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) told the Rheinische Post newspaper they expected France to formally request the relocation of hundreds of former Calais camp dwellers to Germany.

Under the EU’s Dublin regulation, refugees coming to the European Union must claim asylum in the first member state they entered. BAMF sources stressed migrants could challenge the relocation in court.

Thousands of mostly North African and Central Asian migrants have been living in squalid conditions at the "Jungle" camp near the northern French port city of Calais in hope of crossing over to the United Kingdom.

On Monday, French authorities moved over 2,300 migrants to reception centers across the country. Police presence was stepped up at the site for the next stage of the operation which is the demolition of the Calais camp.