EU officials miss goal on foreigners

BRUSSELS — European Union interior ministers fell short Monday of finding takers for the relocation of 40,000 foreigners who have made perilous boat trips across the Mediterranean into Italy and Greece.

At a meeting, the 28 EU member states committed to relocating a total of 32,256 foreigners from the two southern European nations, with Germany taking the biggest share at 10,500. Some members, like the United Kingdom and Denmark, were not legally bound to cooperate while Austria and Hungary said they would not take any.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said some 137,000 people had arrived in Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta in the first six months of the year.