BRUSSELS, March 12 (UPI) -- At an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European Union said the humanitarian crisis in Libya and at its borders is reaching "worrying proportions."
The EU called for additional personnel and money to deal with about 200,000 displaced persons between Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, EUobserver said Saturday.
"We need to be very upfront on the question of migratory flows. There are 200,000 displaced persons between Libya, Egypt and Tunisia," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a news briefing following the EU meeting dedicated to the Libyan crisis.
Sarkozy said there is concern many of the refugees would head for Europe.
"If we don't deal with them humanely then there is a huge temptation for them to come to Europe and we don't have the wherewithal to deal with them," Sarkozy said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the refugees should plan on repatriation rather than emigration.
"I don't see a future for having more and more people emigrate to Europe. Of course, there is a difference when we are having a civil war situation, but the future for these people is to rebuild their countries on the ground," Merkel said.
