Macron favors sanctions against EU countries refusing refugees

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he was backing eventual financial sanctions for European countries which refuse to cooperate over the migrant crisis.

At a joint news conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Macron told reporters that “mechanisms of sanctions would exist in case of no solidarity”.

“We cannot have countries that benefit massively from the solidarity of the European Union and who massively claim their national selfishness when it comes to migratory issues,” he said. After the stranded Aquarius rescue ship triggered heated debate on migration between the bloc’s member countries, Macron reiterated that “on migration, national solutions do not work”.

“When we talk about a European solution, it can be inter-governmental, bilateral solutions, but we reject purely national solutions that go through the closing of borders or non-cooperative approaches,” he said.

However, Italy said “arrogant” France risked becoming its “No.1 enemy” on migration issues, a day before European leaders convene in Brussels for a hastily arranged meeting on the divisive topic.

In answer to comments by Macron, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said his words showed he was out of touch.

“Italy indeed faces a migration emergency and it’s partly because France keeps pushing back people

Mechanisms of sanctions would exist in case of no solidarity.”

Emmanuel Macron, French President

at the border. Macron risks making his country Italy’s No.1 enemy on this emergency,” Di Maio wrote on his Facebook page.

The fate of the Aquarius rescue ship and its more than 600 migrants sparked a heated debate this month over EU states’ responsibilities.

Italy and Malta refused to take in the ship which was stranded at sea for days before being offered safe haven in Spain. On Saturday, another migrant rescue ship, the MV

Lifeline had been refused harbour by Italy and Malta.

With plans to reform Europe’s asylum laws bogged down, EU leaders will in coming days affirm their intention to stop migrants leaving north African shores by paying countries like Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia to hold people until their eligibility for asylum can be established.

Ironically, the tough talk comes as migrant entries drop significantly. The UN’s refugee agency says that around 80,000 people are expected to arrive by sea this year, around half the number from 2017.