Immigration to Europe: 8 European countries agree on a mechanism for the distribution and reception of immigrants

 

France has announced that eight European countries have agreed to co-host migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, but Italy is not one of these countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron said six other countries had in principle supported a Franco-German plan to resettle migrants after talks in Paris.

Macron has warned that he will not agree to pay any funding to countries that refuse to share the burden of this plan.

But Italy, which was and still faces an influx of dozens of boats carrying migrants fleeing to Europe, boycotted the talks.

Matteo Salvini, Italian Minister of the Interior and leader of a coalition of right-wing parties, leads his country's intransigent stance against immigration to the European Union.

Thousands of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean to Europe every year, most using Libya as the starting point for their journey. These trips are often made on rickety boats in which migrants crowd in the hope of reaching dry land.

But since mid-2017, migrant travel to Europe has largely declined due to efforts by Italy and other European countries to encourage Libya to prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean - a policy that rights groups have condemned it.

What did Macron say?

"The talks that took place on Monday morning concluded that 14 EU member states have accepted the Franco-German document," Macron said, after talks attended by a number of interior and business ministers foreigners from the EU.

He added: “Eight countries have announced their cooperation and participation in a stable mechanism that would allow the European Union Commissioner for Migration to act on the requests, and the participation of these countries highlights the spirit of solidarity necessary to be available between the countries of the Union. . "

Macron has not disclosed details of the deal reached.

The eight countries that have accepted the agreement are Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal.

But the six countries that have announced their support for the deal have yet to be announced.