EU summit focusses on undocumented migrants +++ UK’s Brexit planning ‘too slow’

29. Juli 2018, 02:00

EU summit focusses on undocumented migrants

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels for a summit over how to handle irregular migration. Italy wants other EU countries to accept more of the refugees crossing the Mediterranean - but the proposal is likely to be opposed by some Central European countries. Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, warned that migration policy could make or break the EU. She said the EU must act unilaterally, to maintain its credibility. Marie De Somer, from the EU's migration and diversity program, says the summit is unlikely to result in any concrete decisions: "The main hurdle will be to find a consensus between those Central and Eastern European states not wanting to take on any refugees, and the Southern European member states who really want a fair sharing out of responsibility."

UK’s Brexit planning ‘too slow’

The leaders of the 27 states that will remain in the EU after Britain leaves, have warned that the UK has to speed up work on a future relationship with the European Union. Divisions over the UK's customs arrangements have yet to be resolved, as well as arguments over the future movement of goods and people across the Irish border. Maireid McGuinness is an Irish member of the European Parliament: "I absolutely accept that the UK and the European Union, with Ireland as part of it, do not want to see a hard border between my constituency and Northern Ireland. We need that cemented into the withdrawal agreement - and we had expected that to happen at this summit. It's not now happening, that is deeply regrettable."

Ten charged in France over planned attack

The French authorities have charged ten people over an alleged plot to attack Muslims. The nine men and one woman were arrested in raids across France last weekend. The ten are suspected to be members of far-right extremist organisations.

Russia questions future of OPCW

Member nations of the global chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW, have voted to give the organization the authority to identify countries who've used chemical weapons. But Russia's deputy foreign minister said the Kremlin wouldn't recognise the new powers - and that the future of the OPCW was now uncertain

The Weather

Cloudy and rainy - with heavy rain in Tyrol and Salzburg. Windy, with highs ranging from 13 to 24 degrees.

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