Brussels, May 13 (IANS/AKI) The European Commission on Wednesday adopted proposals to end the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, the EU foreign policy chief announced, saying it was “a historic day for Italy”.
“#MigrationEU agenda adopted by the Commission,” Federica Mogherini tweeted.
The proposals include mandatory national quotas and legal means for migrants to travel to Europe, safeguarding the EU’s Mediterranean borders by tripling funds to its Triton mission and boosting its civilian mission in Niger, the main transit country for migrants western Africa.
A total of 20,000 people in need of protection will be resettled in various European countries under the proposals, 9.9 percent of whom will be allocated to Italy, 15.4 percent to Germany, 11.8 percent to France, 11.5 percent to Britain, 7.7 percent to Spain, and 4.8 percent to Poland, according to EU sources.
Italy will be assigned 11.84 percent of asylum seekers already present in Europe, the sources said.
Britain, Ireland and Denmark are not legally bound by the proposed quotas. “This is a historic day for Italy. A burden and responsibility that until now has been almost exclusively Italian becomes European,” Mogherini stated.
Troops may land in Libya to destroy migrant traffickers’ boats if the UN authorises this, under a strategic EU plan on immigration seen by the British daily Guardian.
The strategic planning document is due to be approved at an EU foreign and defence council meet next week.
In an address to the UN in New York on Monday, Mogherini sought its support for EU plans to “disrupt” the criminal gangs smuggling migrants into southern Europe.
She has denied that the EU is mooting an operation to destroy migrant traffickers’ boats in Libya.
The UN estimates that 60,000 people have already tried to cross from North Africa this year, mostly from Libya to Italy, while about 1,800 have died — a more than 30-fold increase on 2014.
There have been warnings that over 500,000 refugees could try to reach Italy across the Mediterranean by boat this year.
–IANS/AKI
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