EU asks member states to admit 40,000 asylum seekers

The EU on Wednesday asked its member states to admit 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea landing in Italy and Greece, which have been overstretched by an influx of migrants. The emergency proposal, which comes atop another one to resettle in member states some 20,000 Syrian refugees, is in response to a surge in migrants making the dangerous crossing over the Mediterranean. Both Rome and Athens, which are struggling with the wave of migrants, appealed to the 26 other EU states to share the burden. Italy’s refugee-reception facilities are stretched to breaking point with 80,000 people currently being housed in them and local authorities are growing increasingly impatient with the demands placed upon them.

I encourage the EU member states to show compassion as they consider this important proposal.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon

The measure concerns people arriving in those countries after April 15 this year, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said. The proposal suggests migrants be distributed according to four criteria: gross national product, population, unemployment and the number of asylum requests already registered in the country. UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who met Wednesday with Juncker and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, welcomed the commission proposal.