BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on immigration issues in Europe (all times local):
Spanish authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants on a rubber boat are being rescued by the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Spain's Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents. Two men were pulled from a canoe.
Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants' attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.
Also, Spain's new center-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.
A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.
___
11 a.m.
European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe's shores in search of better lives - a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.
The leaders of about 16 countries - more than half the 28-nation bloc - will take part in what is being billed as "informal talks" in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves "talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration."
The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws. It has fueled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline rescues migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini talks with journalists on the occasion of the visit in the 'villa' confiscated at Mafia's Casamonica family in Rome, Tuesday, June 21, 2018. Italy's hardline migrant policy is in the spotlight after its new government turned away a rescue boat, a pointed signal that the country has had enough of coping with the migrant influx to European shores. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has quickly proclaimed his next urgent mission: kicking out huge numbers of migrants already here. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline is reached by a Libyan Coast Guard boat after they rescued migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline is reached by a Libyan Coast Guard boat after they rescued migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline rescues migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants wave from aboard ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy's interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Comments
Post a Comment
Drop your comment here