‘Support migrant plan’:

Europe

The European Union’s top migration official urged EU member states on Tuesday to back a temporary plan to quickly get migrants off boats in the Mediterranean Sea and distribute them among willing countries.

Germany, France, Italy and Malta are seeking approval from their EU partners for a “fast-track” process to screen migrants, relocate asylum-seekers and return people who do not apply or qualify for asylum, all within four weeks.

“It’s a moment for all member states to show more solidarity and more responsibility,” Migration Commissioner Dmitris Avramopoulos told reporters in Luxembourg, where EU interior ministers were meeting to discuss migration challenges in the Mediterranean.

“We cannot continue like this with what is happening in the Mediterranean. We cannot only try to find ad hoc solutions. We need permanent mechanisms,” he said. The system would work based on “predeclared