Floating processing centres for migrants

MIGRANTS will be processed at sea in an attempt to control the crisis on the central Mediterranean, leaked EU plans disclose.

They propose creating a “floating hotspot” – a large naval vessel used as a launch pad for search-and-rescue operations for migrants attempting to reach Italy from Libya and Egypt.

It would have the capacity to hold 1,000 migrants, who would be identified, registered and fingerprinted before being taken to Italy.

At present, some migrants are escaping processing, allowing them to leave Italy and reach countries in central Europe.

The plan is contained in a leaked secret memo from the Dutch presidency of the European Council to nation- al governments. It warns that the flow over the Mediterranean will be at least as high this year as in 2014, with the traffic of people through Niger going up “week by week”.

The overwhelming majority of those using the Mediterranean route are Africans, but yesterday the Italian coastguard said it had rescued hundreds of Syrians, suggesting the closure of the Balkan route through Greece is pushing crossings onto far more dangerous waters.

The EU’s fragile deal with Turkey to stem the Aegean route is hanging by a thread after leaders refused to give ground over a visa-free travel deal for Turks, a key sweetener for the package.

Turkey is refusing to tighten its terrorism laws that have been used to hound journalists and academics, a precondition of the deal.