BRUSSELS (AP) – The leaders of Germany, France and about a dozen other European Union nations are converging on Brussels for an afternoon of informal talks on differences over migration ahead of a full EU summit that starts next Thursday.
Facing a domestic political crisis in Germany over the topic, Chancellor Angela Merkel will be seeking to get EU leaders to forge a joint approach to manage the influx of migrants and refugees.
At the heart of the problem lies deep divisions over who should take responsibility for arriving migrants, how long they should be required to accommodate them, and what should be done to help those EU countries hardest hit like Italy and Greece.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants on a rubber boat are being rescued by the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
What started as talks between a half dozen leaders now involves about 16, as others demanded to take part.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline rescues migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline is reached by a Libyan Coast Guard boat after they rescued migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline is reached by a Libyan Coast Guard boat after they rescued migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, a view of the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini talks with journalists on the occasion of the visit in the ‘villa’ confiscated at Mafia’s Casamonica family in Rome, Tuesday, June 21, 2018. Italy’s hardline migrant policy is in the spotlight after its new government turned away a rescue boat, a pointed signal that the country has had enough of coping with the migrant influx to European shores. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has quickly proclaimed his next urgent mission: kicking out huge numbers of migrants already here. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants wave from aboard ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. Italy’s interior minister says Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying 224 migrants to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
An asylum seeker sits in a camp set by the Baobab aid group, in Rome, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. After dramatically blocking humanitarian group’s ships from bringing yet even more migrants rescued at sea to Italian ports, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has proclaimed his next urgent mission: ridding his country of huge numbers of migrants who undertook dangerous treks through African deserts and risky voyages on smugglers’ unseaworthy boats across the Mediterranean to reach their dream: a better life in Europe. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
An asylum seeker from the Horn of Africa who did not want to be identified by his name sits in a tented camp set up by the Baobad aid group, on the outskirts of Rome, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. After dramatically blocking humanitarian group’s ships from bringing yet even more migrants rescued at sea to Italian ports, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has proclaimed his next urgent mission: ridding his country of huge numbers of migrants who undertook dangerous treks through African deserts and risky voyages on smugglers’ unseaworthy boats across the Mediterranean to reach their dream: a better life in Europe. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
An asylum seeker from the Horn of Africa who did not want to be identified by his name sits in a tented camp set up by the Baobad aid group, on the outskirts of Rome, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. After dramatically blocking humanitarian group’s ships from bringing yet even more migrants rescued at sea to Italian ports, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has proclaimed his next urgent mission: ridding his country of huge numbers of migrants who undertook dangerous treks through African deserts and risky voyages on smugglers’ unseaworthy boats across the Mediterranean to reach their dream: a better life in Europe. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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