New refugee camps will be built in Greece, Italy and north Africa to address the migrant crisis, under plans being considered by European Union leaders on Monday night.
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Welcoming the decision, Luxembourg’s Jean Asselborn, who chaired the Brussels meeting, said it sent an “important political message”. “We must keep the borders between EU Member States open, but at the same time we also need stronger joint efforts to secure our external borders”, it said. At final assembly in July, European Union residence affairs ministers failed to attain the goal of 40,000 pledging to redistribute exclusively 32,256 asylum-seekers round Europe.
The ministers agreed the relocation measures would be finalised by their next ministerial meeting, in Luxembourg on 8 October.
“At this moment, Germany is temporarily resuming border controls at the Schengen internal borders”, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said in a statement on Sunday, alluding to the regions within Europe that have abolished passports as a requirement for entry. The human tragedies incite us to act rapidly.
A hotspot in Catania, Italy, was set up in July.
After five years in the worldwide spotlight due to the debt crisis, Greece found itself in a protagonist role in another drama of cross-border dimensions this summer. Hungary does not want one.
Ms Fitzgerald acknowledged “this is a huge challenge for Europe” and said nobody should underestimate how complex the issue was.
Sweden’s minister of justice Morgan Johansson made similar comments.
In an apparent attempt to clear the country of refugees, the Hungarian authorities on Monday halted processing and instead placed migrants on trains terminating close to the Austrian border.
“In principle the hotspots proposal could help manage the situation, but it all depends on the conditions, treatment, procedures in place, and on relocation commitments”, Sunderland said.
“The commission is determined to take action”.
Today, Hungary will introduce laws to criminalise and jail anybody crossing its borders even to claim asylum, contrary to global law.
Ioannis Mouzalas, Greece’s alternate immigration policy minister, said “Greece is registering” arriving asylum seekers. Our Prime Minister has said we can take about 11 or 12 a day.
The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary were among the nations opposed to the plan in the run-up to the crisis talks.
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The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates Europe has been flooded this yr with greater than 410,000 refugees & migrants fleeing war & poverty within the Middle East, Africa & Afghanistan.
