Macron Says EU Must Share Refugees, Expel Economic Migrants
- French propose closed centers to sift through asylum claims
- Italy’s Salvini calls Macron ‘arrogant’ in migrant dispute
People wait to disembark from the Italian Coast Guard vessel "Diciotti" at the port of Pozzallo, Sicily on June 19, 2018, following a rescue operation of migrants and refugees at sea.
Photographer: Giovanni Isolino/AFP via Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron said he wants the European Union to establish “closed centers” in countries such as Italy and Greece to swiftly determine the status of migrants arriving by sea, with genuine asylum seekers shared out among EU members and so-called economic migrants sent home.
Macron made the proposal at a Saturday meeting in Paris with Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a day ahead of a meeting of about 15 European leaders in Brussels to tackle an issue that caused deep splits within the EU.