EU splits exposed as ‘migrants’ summit begins
WHO says most people in Europe too fat
Splits within the EU on the relocation of 120,000 migrants have been further exposed as leaders begin an emergency meeting in Brussels.
Slovakia is launching a legal challenge to mandatory quotas that were passed in a majority vote on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s prime minister has proposed a radical budgetary revamp to raise funds.
The summit will focus on tightening EU borders and aiding neighbours of Syria, from where many migrants come.
European Council President Donald Tusk called for “a concrete plan” to secure the EU’s external borders, “in place of the arguments and the chaos we have witnessed in the past weeks”.
As she arrived at the summit, Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite said it was “not a lack of European unity, but a lack of European wisdom” that had led to this point. Most people in Europe are too fat, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
It said 59% of the population were either overweight or obese.
Its European Health Report also said the WHO Europe region, which includes parts of Asia, had the highest levels of alcohol and tobacco use in the world.
And as a result, WHO officials warned, young people in the region “may not live as long as their grandparents”.
The report praised countries for cutting deaths from cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (which include heart attacks and stroke).
However, it also warned that 30% of the region still smoked - a higher figure than for any other region. And an average alcohol consumption equivalent to 11 litres (20 pints) of pure alcohol a year was also a global high.