With the numbers of desperate people fleeing war and poverty showing no signs of abating the foreign ministers of Germany France and Italy have
ADVERTISEMENTWith the numbers of desperate people fleeing war and poverty showing no signs of abating the foreign ministers of Germany France and Italy have called for an overhaul of laws on the right of asylum.
In a letter signed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Laurent Fabius and Paolo Gentiloni they are pushing for a fairer distribution of migrants throughout the European Union.
“The current refugee crisis is putting the European Union and all of its member states to a historic test. Over the past weeks, this crisis has become even more dramatic,” it read.
The document is addressed to the EU’s foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini ahead of Friday’s informal meeting in Luxembourg.
The main points include an obligation to protect refugees in uniformly acceptable conditions and to process applications efficiently.
They also want a clearer EU policy on immigration – 1990 Dublin accords stipulate refugees claim asylum in the first EU country they enter but this is putting too big a burned on some states.
And with nearly all refugees reaching the EU’s eastern and southern edges first, there should be more support for the member counties affected.