EU Interior Ministers To Discuss Migrant Relocation Plan
European Union (EU) interior ministers are due to meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday, with talks expected to cover a plan to break the deadlock over the distribution of migrants rescued from boats trying to reach Europe.
Germany, France, Italy, and Malta settled last month on a proposal for a temporary mechanism to automatically distribute throughout the bloc migrants who were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.
They need the backing of other EU states to get the plan off the ground, although a spokesman for the German Interior Ministry tempered expectations of a breakthrough in Luxembourg.
The draft deal is meant to put an end to the recent intra-EU disputes on who should take in sea migrants, which has led to charity rescue vessels stranded at sea for days or weeks.
Under the plans, such boats would be able to dock in safe ports, and rescued migrants would be allocated within four weeks to one of the participating member states where they can make an asylum claim.
But the deal only covers migrants who are rescued from boats, which according to the German NGO Pro Asyl excludes the vast majority of those who arrive in the EU to seek asylum.
The interior ministers are also to speak about the EU-Turkey migration deal.
Ankara agreed to prevent migrants from attempting to reach the bloc in exchange for EU funds to support refugees in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been calling for more funding
