Germany’s Interior Ministry has allegedly hardened its refugee policy, with media quoting it as saying that the EU should intercept migrant boats trying to reach Europe from across the Mediterranean and send them back to North Africa.

“The elimination of the prospect of reaching the European coast could convince migrants to avoid embarking on the life-threatening and costly journey in the first place,” a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

The minister himself believes the European Union should intercept refugee boats at sea and return them to Africa, she said, noting that it would “save migrants from the life-threatening journey” and “remove the basis for people-smuggling organizations.”

Full story: rt.com