EUROPE-MIGRANTS/EU MEETING EU interior ministers argue over relocation of 160,000 refugees

Record ID: 139912

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/EU MEETING EU interior ministers argue over relocation of 160,000 refugees
  • Date: 14th September 2015
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (SEPTEMBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN COUNCIL BUILDING EUROPEAN FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAXV5J9XO9ATSXFI97QP0IJOBU
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: European Union members were on collision course on Monday (September 14) over proposals to distribute asylum-seekers across the continent, a plan backed by safe-haven Germany but resisted by several ex-Communist states in the east.
    A draft agreement for discussion by interior ministers in Brussels would see them agree to a proposal from the EU executive to relocate 120,000 of the most deserving cases around the bloc - but leave the way in which to distribute them for discussion over the next few weeks.
    But French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said they would push for firm commitments on the distribution, and a timetable, to be included in a final agreement they wanted to see on Monday.
    The meeting began with formal enactment of an initial pilot scheme to relocate 40,000 people from Italy and Greece, according to a tweet from Luxembourg, holder of the EU presidency. They are to be distributed on a voluntary basis following opposition to proposed quotas.
    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, has proposed national quotas for EU states to take people in from over-burdened frontline states.
    But that is opposed by some ex-communist eastern states, notably Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary - even though the latter would benefit from the executive's plan. They argue that quotas would draw more migrants to Europe and disrupt their societies, which have not been used to large-scale immigration.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register