‘ARROGANT’ MACRON PUSHES SANCTIONS ON ANTIMIGRANT EUROPEAN NATIONS
ROME— EU states refusing to accept migrants should face financial penalties, French President Emmanuel Macron said on the eve of a mini-summit in Brussels about Europe’s immigration crisis.
Speaking after talks in Paris with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Macron said member states that benefit from EU cooperation but “claim national self-interest when it comes to the issue of migrants” should have sanctions imposed on them.
‘Open French ports’
But Macron’s remark drew a scathing response from Italy’s new populist government with Interior Minister Matteo Salvini denouncing Macron’s “arrogance” over immigration issue.
“Six hundred fifty thousand landings in four years, 430,000 applications..., 170,000 apparent refugees currently housed in hotels, buildings and apartments at a cost exceeding five billion euros,” Salvini said.
“If for the arrogant President Macron this is not a problem, we invite him to stop the insults and to demonstrate generosity by opening the many French ports and ceasing to push back women, children and men,” he added.
The fresh verbal tussle emerged after the German charity vessel Lifeline, carrying more than 230 migrants, was turned away by Malta.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Lifeline “broke rules” by ignoring Italy’s directions and should move toward its original destination “to prevent escalation.”
While Malta refused to take in the ship, it delivered humanitarian aid to the vessel’s refugee passengers.
‘Unfortunate’ timing
Underscoring the divisions, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic—which reject any suggestion of mandatory refugee resettlement among EU members—said they would boycott the meeting.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Saturday said the timing of the mini-summit was “unfortunate” and that a real European solution should come through a full EU summit.
Babis earlier said he was also ready to start turning away migrants.