EU ministers agree on relocation of 160,000 refugees

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Tuesday 15 Sep 2015 - 10:25 Makkah mean time-2-12-1436 Google image Brussels (IINA) – EU interior ministers have agreed in principle to redistribute a total of 160,000 asylum seekers across Europe, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Monday, while warning that details still need to be hashed out, DPA reported. “This is a first important step, but the truth lies in the execution and the implementation,” de Maiziere said, also warning that the preliminary deals struck on Monday were “not enough.” “It is still far-out from what we expect on solidarity within the European Union,” he added. The preliminary agreements reached by ministers on Monday leave out many of the most prickly issues. The ministers put the finishing touches on plans to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy over the next two years, but almost 8,000 spots still need to be pledged by EU member states to reach that goal. This is expected to be done by the end of the year. They agreed in principle on the relocation of another 120,000 asylum seekers, but questions still remain on which countries should benefit – with Hungary putting up a fight. How many asylum seekers should be allocated to which countries remains to be finalized too, de Maiziere said. There is also consensus on the creation of an EU list of safe countries from which nationals are unlikely to qualify for asylum and the need to include all Balkan countries on it. But differences still remain on whether Turkey should feature on it too, de Maiziere noted. The measures are expected to become more concrete by the time the interior ministers next meet on October 8, the German minister said. He added that the European Commission is additionally expected to report within a week on the progress made in launching 'hotspots' in Greece and Italy to register refugees, identify those with genuine asylum claims and decide on their relocation. AB/IINA