Emergency talks will be held to try and bridge deep divisions within Europe over absorbing the unprecedented rush of migrants
Brussels : EU interior ministers were set to hold emergency talks today to try and bridge deep divisions over Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II, as pressure builds for member states to reach an agreement.
In an interview with several European newspapers, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned the “raison d’etre of Europe” was at stake, while the OECD grouping of developed countries said the continent had the capacity and an “obligation” to absorb migrants and refugees fleeing conflict and poverty.
Meeting in Brussels will see ministers discuss controversial binding quotas to relocate 120,000 refugees around the EU from frontline states after they failed to reach a deal last week, and ahead of a full summit of the bloc’s 28 leaders.
The UN refugee agency warned that the talks could be the “last opportunity” for a united response to a crisis it said was becoming more and more “chaotic and unpredictable” and was increasing tensions between European countries.
Calling for adequate reception facilities in countries on the frontline, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said: “We’re talking about an average of 6,000 people entering every single day on European
shores.”
On the eve of the talks, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged leaders across the EU to “show leadership and compassion” as the continent grapples with the unrelenting wave of migrants, many of them refugees like Abdullah, a 35-year-old Syrian father of two from war-ravaged Aleppo.
“We have no choice but to leave. We are dying here every day,” he told AFP in Istanbul where he has worked odd jobs for three years to save money for a journey across Europe he hopes to make soon.
