France and Malta say 58 migrants stranded on a de-flagged rescue ship are to be accepted by four EU nations. The Aquarius 2 won't be allowed to dock in Malta, but instead has to transfer its occupants to a Maltese boat.
France, Germany, Portugal and Spain have said they will accept migrants aboard the Aquarius rescue ship under a deal described as a "European solution" by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.His Cabinet colleague, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, had insisted that Malta handle disembarkation; under European rules, the ship was supposed to dock at the nearest port, in this case Malta.
Read more: Aquarius 2 migrant rescue ship has registration revoked
France has said it will take in 18 migrants, while Germany and Spain will each welcome 15, a French government source told the news agency AFP on Tuesday.
Portugal said it will take 10 migrants, and added that it was still pushing for an "integrated, stable and definitive European solution."
Last ship left
Malta has said the transfer from the Aquarius to a Maltese naval boat will be made in international waters. The 58 people will then be immediately forwarded to the four EU nations.
The Aquarius, de-flagged by Panama last weekend, is then set to return to its French port of Marseille, said the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which assists the vessel's support charity SOS Mediterranean.
The ship is the only privately run rescue vessel left operating amid a tightening legal stranglehold imposed by Mediterranean nations, including Italy's populist government, and coast guard units in Libya, where refugees typically venture onto the water.
So far this year at least 1,260 migrants have died trying to make the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration. Attempted crossings since January have been estimated at 38,140, compared to 121,000 in 2017.
Transfers from crowded Lesbos camp
In a parallel development, some 400 asylum seekers arrived in Greece's main port of Piraeus on Tuesday from the overcrowded Moria migrant camp on Lesbos.
The migrants, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and African nations, were to be transferred to other camps and accommodation on the Greek mainland.
Charities had slammed conditions at Moria, citing cases of sexual attack, deplorable sanitation and an increase in suicide attempts among camp residents.
ipj/cmk (AP, AFP, dpa)First published: September 26, 2018
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