Mogherini urges member states to put more money into Africa migrants fund
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged EU member countries to put more money into an Africa trust fund as the bloc looks to set up migrant screening centers outside Europe.
Mogherini said Monday that the fund “has proven to be useful, it has brought results and this is why we are asking for more money from member states,” AP reported.
EU leaders are set later this week to greenlight plans to screen migrants for eligibility as asylum seekers at centers in countries including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia.
The plans mirror a deal that the EU clinched with Turkey in 2015 aimed at encouraging Ankara to stop refugees setting out for the Greek islands. That deal has cost more than 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion).
Solution still sought
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also continues to seek a European solution on the migration issue in talks with other European leaders, her spokesman said on Monday, after discussions among some European Union states failed to produce an agreement.
“The chancellor is working with European partners to discuss European solutions,” Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference, Reuters reported.
Merkel, facing a revolt by her Bavarian conservative allies that could break up her government, on Sunday said she would seek direct deals with separate EU states on migration, conceding the bloc had failed to find a joint solution to the issue threatening her government.
The summer wave of migrants has caused divisions between European Union governments, even as it represents a significant drop in the number of migrants who arrived a year ago.
Italy’s new government has vowed to deport tens of thousands of migrants while Spain’s new center-left government is urging more cooperation on helping migrants and the nations they land in.
Over 1,000 rescued
Spanish authorities said Monday 210 people have been rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar, as more migrants take advantage of fair weather in the Western Mediterranean to make the risky crossing by boat from North Africa to Spain, AP reported.
Those rescued Monday came in addition to the more than 800 migrants rescued in the previous two days after the winds dropped and the sea calmed. Even so, the Strait is a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents.
Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said it pulled 155 people from eight different small boats crossing the strait.
The Spanish Civil Guard said it rescued 55 others.