EU leaders met this week to work out long-standing divisions over migration and suggested enhanced cooperation with North African countries. Differences remained on sharing the distribution of migrants.
On Wednesday and Thursday, EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met in Brussels and tried to sort out disagreements across the bloc on migration.
Among the most divisive issues are the distribution of migrants in the EU as well as the management of migrant arrivals. Hungary and Poland have rejected the relocation quota.
Flexible approach
Antonio Tajani, head of the European Parliament, suggested that EU states who refuse to host refugees could instead pay more for migration and development projects in Africa.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also suggested that so-called frontline countries such as Greece and Italy should receive funding from EU members opposed to hosting migrants. "We're recommending that instead of mandatory quotas that we go the way of solidarity. This means that each country will provide a contribution where it is possible and where it makes sense," Kurz said according to AP.
Call for joint effort
"We can't just say that a country with a border on the sea is suddenly the only one responsible," Luxembourgish Prime Minister Xavier Bettel added. "The problem is European, and the solution should be a European one as well."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the idea of countries pitching in financially was a "little too easy" for such a complex topic. "This really isn't a European answer. We still need to work on the issue."
Closed border policy
EU leaders set their eyes on the next major migration summit to be held in Cairo in February. EU countries will work with Arab nations such as Egypt and Tunisia to find solutions to better stem migration in Africa and Europe.
Egypt is a prime candidate for a new partnership with the EU on migration. The aim would be to get the Egyptian coast guard to patrol the waters off Libya - the main point for migrants leaving for Italy and take any rescued people back to Africa.
The EU has been criticized for intensifying border patrols to keep migrants out. "The current tenor of the political debate - painting a picture of Europe under siege - is not only unhelpful but completely out of touch with reality," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a joint statement. "We cannot forget that we are talking about human lives. Debate is welcome - scapegoating refugees and migrants for political gain is not."