EU chief piles pressure on Theresa May to take on more migrants to Britain
THERESA May is under fresh pressure from Brussels to admit more migrants to Britain amid warnings the crisis could last for decades.
Theresa May is under fresh pressure from Brussels to admit more migrants to Britain
The European Commission’s deputy head Frans Timmermans said Europe’s bid to tackle the increasing flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean needed “solidarity from all member states including the United Kingdom”.
He said: “I will tell you this migration issue will not go away – not today, not tomorrow, not next year, not for a decade, not for two decades.
“This is a global phenomenon that will be with us for generations.”
The number of migrants from north and central African countries such as Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Somalia seeking to enter Europe has risen by 20 per cent since the same period last year according to the United Nations.
The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe this year has passed 100,000 and nearly 2,250 have died making the journey.
European Commission’s deputy head Frans Timmermans
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Italy has taken 85 per cent of the arrivals, and European officials like Mr Timmermans are calling for other countries to help ease the pressure.
This is a global phenomenon that will be with us for generations
He said: “It’s an exercise we need to do at the European level."
David Cameron pledged in 2015 to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees.
More than 5,000 had been settled by the end of 2016, but Mrs May has since resisted calls for the UK to widen its policy.
The EU chief is piling the pressure on Theresa May
Amongst a range of measures aimed at tackling the crisis, Mr Timmermans echoed the Prime Minister by calling for the EU to have more power to deport migrants found not to fit the refugee criteria.
The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe this year has passed 100,000
He said: “We know that many of the people arriving in Italy, when scrutinised, do not have the right to international protection because they don’t flee from war or persecution.
“They seek a better life, which is a noble pursuit, but it does not grant them the right to stay in the European Union.”