Divisions and doubts dog crunch talks on Europe's migrant crisis

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Divisions and doubts dog crunch talks on Europe’s migrant crisis

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann cast doubt on the workability of the so-called migrant hotspots European leaders plan to create by the end of next month in Greece and Italy to help manage large numbers of refugees. Of the more than half a million refugees and migrants to arrive in Europe across the Mediterranean this year, almost 400,000 have come through Greece and 131,000 through Italy, making them frontline states in the continent’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II. In a new attempt to clamp down on economic migrants, ministers responsible for migration policies will meet on Thursday in Luxembourg to agree to measures to discourage illegal migration.

Meanwhile, Britain is urging the European Union to speed the deportation of people who do not qualify for asylum. Home Secretary Theresa May said Thursday that “we need to see Europe upping its game”. She said the EU “should be sending economic migrants back to their countries of origin. It’s why we need to crack down on those who are abusing our asylum system." German Chancellor Angela Merkel rounded on east European governments that refuse to take in refugees, accusing them of yielding to prejudice and ignoring their own history, the Politico website reported on Thursday. Merkel made the comments at a closed-door meeting with lawmakers of the centre-right European People’s Party before she and French President Francois Hollande jointly addressed the European Parliament on Wednesday, the news website said.