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Migrant crisis: Thousands of new reception places agreed | Migrant crisis: Thousands of new reception places agreed |
(35 minutes later) | |
Another 100,000 spaces in refugee welcome centres will be created under a deal agreed by European leaders at an emergency summit in Brussels. | Another 100,000 spaces in refugee welcome centres will be created under a deal agreed by European leaders at an emergency summit in Brussels. |
The heads of 11 EU states and three non-EU countries met to discuss how to handle growing numbers of migrants. | |
More than 9,000 migrants arrived in Greece every day last week, the highest rate so far this year. | More than 9,000 migrants arrived in Greece every day last week, the highest rate so far this year. |
Under the deal, Greece will open reception centres with enough room for 30,000 migrants by the end of the year. | Under the deal, Greece will open reception centres with enough room for 30,000 migrants by the end of the year. |
The UN's refugee body, the UNHCR, will provide another 20,000 spaces in the same time. | The UN's refugee body, the UNHCR, will provide another 20,000 spaces in the same time. |
It will also add reception centres with another 50,000 spaces in Balkan countries, which are the most popular routes for migrants looking to travel north to Germany and Scandinavia. | |
Also as part of the deal, leaders agreed to: | |
"This is one of the greatest litmus tests that Europe has ever faced," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. | "This is one of the greatest litmus tests that Europe has ever faced," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
Smaller countries along the Balkan route say their resources are stretched by the number of people arriving. | Smaller countries along the Balkan route say their resources are stretched by the number of people arriving. |
Bottlenecks have also been exacerbated in part by Hungary closing its borders with Serbia and Croatia, forcing migrants to seek alternative routes north. | Bottlenecks have also been exacerbated in part by Hungary closing its borders with Serbia and Croatia, forcing migrants to seek alternative routes north. |
Their journeys have been aided by governments who have helped them move to camps or on to the next border. | Their journeys have been aided by governments who have helped them move to camps or on to the next border. |
Before the talks, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic dismissed requests to stop moving migrants on. | Before the talks, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic dismissed requests to stop moving migrants on. |
"That is impossible, whoever wrote this does not understand how things work and must have just woken up from a months-long sleep," he said. | "That is impossible, whoever wrote this does not understand how things work and must have just woken up from a months-long sleep," he said. |
"Waving them through has to be stopped and that is what is going to happen," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after the summit. | "Waving them through has to be stopped and that is what is going to happen," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after the summit. |
Mr Milanovic and Slovenian President Borut Pahor had said Sunday's talks would be a success only if they agreed to stricter restrictions on migrants travelling from Turkey to Greece. | Mr Milanovic and Slovenian President Borut Pahor had said Sunday's talks would be a success only if they agreed to stricter restrictions on migrants travelling from Turkey to Greece. |
But no firm new measures on that front were agreed. | But no firm new measures on that front were agreed. |
Analysis: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Brussels | Analysis: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Brussels |
There was grumbling, there was pleading, and there were several sharp retorts. | There was grumbling, there was pleading, and there were several sharp retorts. |
It was sometimes hard to remember that all the leaders who turned up here today professed to want the same thing: an end to the chaos that increasingly marks the migration route through the Western Balkans. | It was sometimes hard to remember that all the leaders who turned up here today professed to want the same thing: an end to the chaos that increasingly marks the migration route through the Western Balkans. |
They don't agree on the way to do it. | They don't agree on the way to do it. |
Even before the meeting began, Croatia's Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic labelled the plan "unrealistic"; drafted by someone "who had just woken up from a months-long sleep". The solution, he said, lay in Turkey and Greece. | |
It's a sentiment echoed by many of the leaders here today - that without action from Turkey in stemming the number of people crossing its border into Greece, anything else is just tinkering around the edges. | It's a sentiment echoed by many of the leaders here today - that without action from Turkey in stemming the number of people crossing its border into Greece, anything else is just tinkering around the edges. |
Read more: Europe's rifts laid bare in Brussels | Read more: Europe's rifts laid bare in Brussels |