Germany and France pushed on Sunday for new solutions to the migration crisis as bickering among European Union (EU) leaders left boats carrying hundreds of African migrants adrift at sea. Sixteen of the EU’s 28 leaders held emergency talks in Brussels to find a way forward despite a long-standing deadlock over who should take in migrants and refugees who land in Italy and other European countries.
Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini bluntly told foreign charities on Sunday to stop rescuing migrants off Libya, where one group said 1,000 people were on boats in distress. He accused them of abetting people smugglers.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to forge ahead with like-minded leaders on ways to reduce migrant flows and share responsibility for those who land on Europe's shores. Ms. Merkel, who is scrambling to prevent a mutiny in her government over migration, admitted there were still “some differences” but also “a great deal of common ground”.
Sunday’s meeting paves the way for a full EU summit on Thursday and Friday.
