European Union leaders could promise billions of euros in new funding for Syrian refugees at an emergency summit on Wednesday where they will also try to patch up bitter divisions over the migration crisis.
Meeting for dinner a day after interior ministers overrode furious objections from four eastern states in a vote that will distribute asylum-seekers around the bloc according to mandatory national quotas, government leaders will try to focus on ways to curb the inflow of migrants that has hit records this summer. But feelings are running high as chaotic crowds and varied responses from national capitals have seen borders close inside Europe's cherished passport-free Schengen zone and diplomats expect “theatrics” from some of the 28 leaders as each seeks to shore up domestic support in the face of fears of immigration.
“Today ... a concrete plan must finally appear in place of the arguments and the chaos we have witnessed in the last weeks,” said European Council president Donald Tusk, who will chair the 28 leaders’ first full EU summit in three months.
19 states warned
The European Commission today warned that 19 EU member states, including France and Germany, faced possible sanctions for failing to implement rules on handling asylum-seekers coming to Europe.
Slovakia to contest quotas
Slovakia will go to court to challenge quotas for distributing asylum-seekers approved by EU ministers, Slovak PM Robert Fico said. Slovakia was among four central and east European countries that voted against the plan to relocate 120,000 migrants from Italy and Greece among all member states.
