Courtesy of Mish.
Emergency EU Meeting Called
Animosity over millions of migrants entering the EU has finally reached the crisis stage. In an emergency meeting this weekend, called by German chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Leaders to Hammer Out Continental Response to Migrant Crisis.
European leaders will hold an emergency summit this weekend in an attempt to bring order to the tide of migrants crossing the western Balkans.
The hastily arranged meeting in Brussels comes after weeks of tit-for-tat border closures in Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, which have led to thousands of migrants being stranded in increasingly difficult conditions in southeastern Europe.
The crisis has triggered a dramatic deterioration of relations between governments in the region, with Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar attacking Croatia’s handling of the situation. Slovenia this weekend called in the army to help cope with the influx, sparking concern among diplomats in Brussels.
At the meeting on Sunday, Ms Merkel is expected to push for increased efforts to “Europeanise” border controls. The chancellor believes that unless the influx is brought to a halt, finding a solution to where refugees will be resettled or relocated will be nearly impossible.
In an effort to ease the pressure, German chancellor Angela Merkel will meet leaders from nine other countries on the so-called “western Balkans route”, which has become the main route for people trying to reach Europe.
Brussels’s plans involves a potential “structural” resettlement programme early next year. Officials will look at basing the proposals on recommendations from UNHCR, which has called on the EU to take in up to 200,000 people from refugee camps in countries such as Turkey and Lebanon.
This mass resettlement will come on top of the agreed “relocation” of 160,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other EU countries, which was introduced after a fierce diplomatic bust-up between Berlin and its eastern neighbours.
Berlin has attempted to toughen its stance on refugees and is considering using military transport aircraft to ferry unsuccessful asylum seekers back to their homelands in a bid to win over an increasingly sceptical German public.
The eight EU member states set to attend the summit are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, along with Germany, which is still the favoured destination for most people heading to Europe. Non-EU countries including Macedonia and Serbia will also attend the meeting.
Migration Path
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