EU leaders to pledge rescue for migrants, but no fix for problem

Brussels/Rome, European Union leaders will reverse a cutback in rescue operations in the Mediterranean on Thursday to try to prevent record numbers of people drowning as they try to flee war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
But an emergency EU summit in Brussels, called after up to 900 went down on a single boat on Sunday, will do little else beyond laying out options, including attacks on smugglers and holding camps for migrants, on which the 28 states are divided.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the bloc’s pre-eminent leader, said on arrival that Europe’s values and credibility in the rest of the world were on the line “and so the issue today is of the greatest importance, in terms of saving human lives”.
Underlining global attention, the United Nations criticised the European response so far and urged it to do more: “The European Union response needs to go beyond the present minimalist approach … which focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on its shores.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron, fighting an election against anti-immigration populists, brandished the EU’s biggest defence budget in pledging his navy’s helicopter-carrying flagship and two other vessels to an operation he previously refused to support for fear of tempting more people out to sea.
But he stressed those picked up would not automatically be given refuge in Britain and would mostly be delivered to Italy, whose prime minister, Matteo Renzi, said he was optimistic that his European allies would no longer let Rome struggle alone.
European Council President Donald Tusk said as he arrived to chair the summit that no one had any illusions the leaders could resolve the problems immediately. “We cannot. The real causes are war, instability and poverty in the whole region.” There were just 28 survivors from Sunday’s disaster, which appeared to be the worst ever among migrants fleeing by sea to Europe from North Africa.
A poignant interfaith funeral was held in Malta for 24 victims, the only ones whose bodies have been recovered so far from a ship in which many are believed to have been locked in below deck.
Imam Mohammed El Sadi said what had happened should raise awareness of the migrants’ plight while Bishop Mario Grech called for action motivated by love, rather than just the law. “We can continue to read out the laws like lawyers do, but that is not enough,” he said. — Reuters
EU must do more to save migrants: UN
Europe must urgently set up an effective rescue operation for migrants at sea and commit to receiving significantly higher numbers of refugees, top UN officials and the International Organization for Migration said
“The EU response needs to go beyond the present minimalist approach… which focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on its shores,” it said.
The statement said the safety and human rights of all migrants and refugees seeking to reach Europe’s shores should be at the forefront of an EU response
Earlier mission closed
Italy shut down a mission that saved the lives of more than 100,000 migrants last year because other EU countries refused to pay for it
It was replaced with a smaller EU scheme whose main focus is to patrol the bloc’s borders, after countries argued that saving migrants encouraged more to come
The Italian operation, Mare Nostrum, ended six months ago after critics, notably Britain and Germany, said it was drawing more would-be migrants by raising the chances of being rescued
Italy now estimates as many as 200,000 people will cross to its shores this year, up from about 170,000 reported by the International Organisation for Migration for last year.

Comments

comments