“Implementation is insufficient and has to be speeded up”, the leaders declared in the conclusions on migration at their last summit of the year in Brussels.
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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, in his turn, said that he is satisfied that the Commission’s proposals on protecting the external borders was broadly welcomed by the heads of state and government. Greek authorities say two people have drowned and 83 others have been rescued after a wooden boat crammed with refugees sank in the Aegean Sea off the eastern Greek island of Lesbos.
The latest news from a European Union summit focusing on the migration crisis and British demands for EU reforms.
The lack of a clear plan has led to fears for Europe’s cherished Schengen passport-free area as nations restore internal border controls to stem the tide of humanity.
The EU and its member states are still struggling to develop a common response. Countries farther north in Europe like Germany & Sweden – the preferred destinations of many migrants – are notably clever to have tighter controls alongside Greece’s twisting maritime border with Turkey to ease the flow of individuals, as is France.
European Council President Donald Tusk says British Prime Minister David Cameron faces an uphill battle to sway member nations to force through fundamental changes to EU rules that Britain wants since “some parts of the British proposal seem unacceptable”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she didn’t expect a decision during the Brussels meeting, but she hoped the leaders would edge closer to backing the border agency.
Amnesty global, meanwhile, has warned that the protection of the EU’s external borders must not come at the expense of refugees’ rights. “Europe can not remain vulnerable when Schengen states are not able to effectively protect their borders”, Tusk stated.
The plans for a European Border and Coast Guard would almost treble EU spending on frontier defence, and replace Frontex, the EU agency with limited powers to intervene in crises.
But for some, the plan touches at the very heart of national identity a country’s right to decide who or what can be deployed on its territory and Greece, Italy, Croatia and Hungary were expected to oppose it.
Under their November deal, European Union leaders pledged three billion euros ($3.2 billion) in aid to help improve the lot of the more than two million Syrian refugees sheltering on Turkish soil.
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Around 4,000 people have been landing daily this month in Greece from Turkey, the main launchpad for migrant crossings to Europe, according to a report from Luxembourg, which now holds the EU’s presidency. Some 770,000 migrants have landed in Greece alone, a lot of them arriving from Turkey.
