EU Bracing For A Massive Migration Crisis From The Middle East And Africa Caused By The Global Food Crisis

 

Daily Mail: Europe faces huge surge in migration from Middle East and Africa due to food crisis created by war in Ukraine, EU warns 

* Around 20million tonnes of grain are currently blocked in Ukrainian ports 

* Food prices have rocketed which could fuel a migration wave towards Europe 

* Putin has been accused of deliberately weaponizing food supplies 

Europe is facing a huge migration wave from the Middle East and Africa because of the food crisis aggravated by the war in Ukraine, the EU has warned. 

Ukraine is one of the biggest grain exporters in the world but production and dispatch have been severely affected by Putin's barbaric invasion. 

Around 20million tonnes of grain from last year's harvest are blocked in Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The EU is fixated on exporting Ukraine grain to alleviate the global food crisis. But many are predicting that Ukraine itself is going to face serious food shortages this winter because of the war. IMHO this is the wrong time for Ukraine to export its food stocks. 

And what makes the EU position on food even more absurd are the anti-farm policies that we are seeing in places like the Netherlands and Poland where farmers are being pressured to cut food production to meet climate change goals. 

The truth is that the global food crisis has been long in the making, and the cost to feed oneself is no longer affordable for hundreds of millions of people around the world. So face with the option of staying put and starving, or going to where there is food, it should then surprise no one that people will be going to where the food is. 

EU Bracing For A Massive Migration Crisis From The Middle East And Africa Caused By The Global Food Crisis  

EU preparing for 'huge challenge' of migration waves sparked by food crisis -- Euronews  

EU Warns of “Waves of Migration” Caused by Global Food Crisis -- Summit News  

EU braces for migrants spurred by food crisis -- RTE

Turkey's Interior Minister Boasts That The Migrant Influx Just The Beginning. Predicts The Fall Of European Governments And The Destabilization Of Their Economies

Refugees who cross to Europe will soon top to a million, European governments will fall, their economies will be destabilized and their stock exchanges will tumble and they can't do anything about it, says #Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. pic.twitter.com/xeUBX8uiwZ

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 7, 2020

Ahval: Migrant influx just the beginning, says Turkish interior minister

The current influx of thousands of migrants attempting to cross into Greece from Turkey will soon see a significant spike, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Saturday.

More migrants will be able to move towards the border thanks to favourable weather conditions and increased Turkish security measures at the border to stem pushbacks, Yeniçağ newspaper quoted Soylu as saying at a press conference in the eastern province of Elazığ on Saturday.

"This is just the beginning. You should watch what will happen next. What has happened so far is nothing," Soylu said.

Thousands gathered at Turkey's border with Greece, after Turkish authorities said last week they would no longer stop migrants trying to get to Europe.

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WNU Editor: The Turkish military is now openly violating Greek territory .... Turkish Armored Vehicle Attempted To Pull Down Greek Border Fence (Zero Hedge/South Front)

Turkish President Erdogan Says 'Millions' Of Refugees Heading To Europe

DW: Erdogan warns 'millions' of refugees heading to Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized Turkey's actions at the Greek border, saying that it was "wholly unacceptable" for Recep Tayyip Erdogan to punish migrants because of his dissatisfaction with Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to bus thousands of migrants from refugee camps to Turkey's border with Greece was the wrong approach, even if Ankara "currently does not feel sufficiently supported" by Europe.

"But despite all the willingness to negotiate on providing yet more support [for Turkey], it is wholly unacceptable to then take this out on refugees," Merkel said of Erdogan's decision. She said he was leading desperate people into a "cul-de-sac," with Greece already making it clear it does not intend to grant them entry.

Read more ....

More News On Turkish President Erdogan Saying That 'Millions' Of Refugees Are Heading To Europe

President Erdogan says 'MILLIONS' of migrants will head to Europe and the continent must share the migrant 'burden' after opening Turkey's borders, as Greeks say they fear 'invasion' --Daily Mail
Turkey says millions of migrants may head to EU -- BBC
Erdogan threatens Europe with 'millions' of migrants -- AFP
Migrant Shot Dead by Greek Police as Border Clashes Grow -- Summit News
Migrants clash with Greek police at Turkey, Europe border -- DW
Greece blocks thousands of migrants trying to enter from Turkey -- France 24
Turkey-EU standoff: Greece blocks refugees stranded in Turkey -- Al Jazeera
Syrian migrant killed as thousands attempt to cross from Turkey into Greece -- France 24

Thousands Of Migrants Swarm The Greek And Bulgarian Border

Daily Mail: First 18,000 Syrian refugees cross Greek border amid fresh tear gas clashes with guards after Turkish president Erdogan vowed to open doors to Europe and KEEP them open

* Turkish President Erdogan said he would not close the gates for migrants seeking refuge in Europe
* The drastic shift comes after Turkey lost 33 military personnel during an offensive in Idlib on Thursday
* Migrants played a cat-and-mouse game with Greek border patrols throughout the night and into Saturday
* The move is seen as a way of influencing European powers to help to resolve the ongoing conflict in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to keep borders open for Syrian refugees headed for Europe as the first 18,000 cross the Greek border and migrants clash for the second day with guards.

'What did we do yesterday (Friday)? We opened the doors,' Erdogan said in Istanbul in his first comments since 33 Turkish troops were killed in northern Syria on Thursday. 'We will not close those doors ...Why? Because the European Union should keep its promises.'

The Turkish leader also said 18,000 migrants have amassed on the Turkish borders with Europe since Friday, adding that the number could reach as many as 30,000 on Saturday.

Migrants played a cat-and-mouse game with Greek border patrols throughout the night and into Saturday, with some cutting holes in the fence only to be turned back by tear gas and stun grenades. Greek authorities also fired tear gas to repulse attempts by the crowd to push through the border.

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WNU Editor: Turkish President Erdogan thinks that by opening the border he is putting pressure on Europe to help him with his military operations in Syria. But all that it is doing is creating a great deal of European resentment and mistrust against him.

More News On Migrants Swarming The Greek And Bulgarian Border

Syria war: Turkey says thousands of migrants have crossed to EU -- BBC
Greece stops 4,000 migrants at Turkey border -- France 24
Greece pushes back migrants on Turkish border 'onslaught' -- Reuters
Erdogan Says, ‘We Opened the Doors,’ and Clashes Erupt as Migrants Head for Europe -- The New York Times
Greek police fire teargas on migrants at border with Turkey -- CNBC/Reuters

Turkey Has Opened The Idlib Border And Is Now Allowing Syrian Refugees Free Passage To Europe

Internally displaced Syrian holds opposition flag in support of Turkish army and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels at Bab el-Salam border crossing in Syria (Reuters)

Middle East Eye: Turkey opens Idlib border and allows Syrian refugees free passage to Europe

Route out of northwestern Syria opened for 72 hours, officials tell MEE, after 29 Turkish troops killed in attack by pro-Assad forces.

Turkey decided to immediately open its southwestern border with Syria and allow Syrians fleeing the pro-government forces' assault free passage to Europe for the next 72 hours, Turkish official sources told Middle East Eye.

A senior Turkish official said Syrian refugees headed towards Europe won't be stopped either on land or by sea.

The official said Ankara had ordered police, gendarmerie, border guards and sea guards to stand down on Thursday if they detected any Syrian refugees trying to cross into Europe.

The decision came after a security meeting chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Thursday.

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Update #1: As more Turkish troops killed, Ankara says it will not stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe (Reuters)
Update #2: Turkey to allow Syrian refugees passage to Europe (The Hill)

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. Expect another refugee-migration crisis on the borders of Europe. But I think the reaction from Europe is going to be different. With the coronavirus outbreak currently spreading throughout Europe, I can easily see governments moving in the coming weeks to implement quarantines and isolating infected patients to contain the disease. They are not going to permit hundreds of thousands of refugees to pour into the continent and break this containment.

More Refugees Pour Into The Geek Island Of Lesbos Raising Tensions And A Backlash From The Locals

Refugees and migrants confront riot police outside the Kara Tepe camp, on the island of Lesbos. Photograph: Elias Marcou/Reuters

The Guardian: Crisis in Lesbos as more refugees arrive

Greek island a ‘powder keg ready to explode’ as boat landings lead to tensions with local people.

Greek authorities are struggling to cope with rising tension on islands where pressure from a new influx of refugees and migrants has reached a critical point.

Friction is growing between local people and asylum seekers landing in boats from Turkey. Last week the region’s most senior official likened the situation on Lesbos to a “powder keg ready to explode”. Kostas Moutzouris, governor of the north Aegean, said: “It’s crucial that a state of emergency is called.”

More than 42,000 men, women and children are estimated to be on Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos. Unable to leave because of a containment policy determined by the EU, they are forced to remain on the islands until their asylum requests are processed by a system both understaffed and overstretched.

Read more ....

Update #1: Thousands of migrants clash with police as riot cops fire tear gas to disperse crowds protesting about refugee camp conditions on Lesbos (Daily Mail)

WNU Editor: This crisis is only going to escalate. Syria military forces launched a major military offensive a few weeks ago that has created a massive refugee crisis that in turn (I predict) will result in many trying to flee to Europe .... 500,000 flee Syrian regime's deadly offensive in Idlib (The Guardian).

Update #2: Refugee camps are always horrible places to live .... A doctor’s story: inside the ‘living hell’ of Moria refugee camp (The Guardian).

European Countries Have Built About 1,000 Kilometres Of Border Walls And Fences Since 2015

The "Borderland Trail", a cross-national circular trail with original GDR border barriers, pictured near Teistungen, Germany, August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Euronews: Europe has built barriers six times the length of the Berlin Wall since 1989

In the three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, European countries have built about 1,000 kilometres of border walls and fences.

That amounts to six times the length of the Berlin Wall, the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute (TNI) flagged in a new report on Tuesday, adding that most have been built since 2015 when Syria's civil war — and the migrant crisis — was at its height.

"This time Europe is divided not so much by ideology as by perceived fear of refugees and migrants, some of the world's most vulnerable people," the report notes.

Newly-built barriers are in locations across the continent, including:

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Update: Arms companies 'rake in billions' as Europe builds new walls (Al Jazeera)

WNU Editor: And the European trend is for even more walls in the future.

Europe's Migrant Crisis Continues

A Greek police officer attends the beach after 547 people arrived last night, most of them from Syria and Afghanistan

Daily Mail: Europe's migrant crisis continues unabated as 500 arrive on Lesbos in flotilla of 16 boats and 100 more scale barbed wire fences to reach Spanish enclave

* More than 500 migrants - including 246 children - landed on the Greek island of Lesbos overnight
* They arrived in the fishing village of Skala Sikamia and most are believed to come from Syria and Afghanistan
* Many were taken to a UN camp where more than 10,000 are being held in a facility designed to hold 3,000
* Meanwhile 155 sub-Saharan Africans jumped over barbed wire fences into Ceuta from Morocco today
* Several migrants clung to the tops of the 20ft fences and had to be hauled off by officers in cherry pickers

Europe's migrant crisis continued today with over 100 scaling a 20ft barbed wire fence into a Spanish enclave and more than 500 arriving on boats at a beach in Greece overnight.

Police in Ceuta said 155 sub-Saharan Africans made their way into the Spanish territory after climbing fences that separate it from Morocco on Friday.

Meanwhile on the island of Lesbos 16 rubber dinghies packed with 547 migrants - more than 240 of them children - landed at the fishing village of Skala Sikamia overnight.

They arrived within the space of around an hour while another 32 people in different vessel were rescued at sea and transported to land.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Sweden is now saying enough .... Sweden ends sweeping ‘automatic asylum’ policy for Syrians. (BBC).

Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal Two Seized By Hundreds Of Illegal African Migrants Demanding The Right To Stay In France

#Update: Just in - Video of the moment these 400 African illegal immigrants stormed in the terminal of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in #Paris. #France pic.twitter.com/vPaxkpseDz

— Sotiri Dimpinoudis ❁‏ (@sotiridi) May 19, 2019

Daily Mail: Hundreds of migrants occupy France's Charles de Gaulle airport, demand to meet the Prime Minister and call for an end to deportations

* Some 500 undocumented immigrants occupied Charles de Gaulle's Terminal 2
* They called on Air France to stop playing any part in the deportation of migrants
* The group also asked to meet with the French Prime Minister over asylum policy
* The protest was organised by the migrant support group La Chapelle Debout

Hundreds of undocumented migrants occupied a terminal at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris yesterday to protest against Air France carrying out deportations and demanding they be given permanent residency.

Footage uploaded to Twitter shows some 500 members of the migrant support group La Chapelle Debout gathered in Terminal 2 of France's largest airport.

The protesters called on Air France to 'stop any financial, logistical or political participation in deportations' and demanded a meeting with its leaders, as well as French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

Read more ....

More News On Hundreds Of African Migrants Seizing Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal Two

‘Stop deportations’ Migrants storm Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport -- Daily Star
Hundreds of migrants occupy Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris -- News.com.au
Hundreds Of "Black Vest" Migrants Seize Paris Airport Terminal: "France Does Not Belong To The French!" -- Zero Hedge
‘France does not belong to the French!’ 100s of ‘Black Vest’ migrants occupy Paris airport (VIDEO) -- RT

Thousands Protest In Brussels Against Adoption Of U.N. Migration Pact

DW: Tear gas, dozens of arrests at Brussels anti-migration demo

Around 5,500 people have rallied in the European quarter in the Belgian capital against the new UN migration pact. Prime Minister Charles Michel's decision to support the accord has left the government in disarray.

Thousands of people marched through Brussels on Sunday in opposition to a United Nations pact aimed at boosting cooperation over migration.

Police said some 5,500 people took part in the protest, organized by Flemish right-wing parties in the part of the Belgian capital where the main European Union institutions are located.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: From what I am seeing in the pictures and videos .... and like the current unrest in France .... many of the demonstrators/protestors are people in the 30s and 40s.

More News On Today's Protests In Brussels Against The Adoption Of U.N. Migration Pact

Thousands march in Brussels against U.N. migration pact -- Reuters
Anti-migrant protesters clash with police in Brussels -- The Guardian
Belgian police fire tear gas, water cannons at anti-immigration protesters in Brussels -- ABC News Online
Brussels protest against UN migration pact turns violent -- Politico
Water cannon, firecrackers as thousands rally against UN migration pact in Brussels (PHOTO, VIDEO) -- Rioters
Dramatic photos show far-right activists getting pelted with a water cannon during a migration protest in Brussels -- Business Insider

Migrants Who Stormed Border Of Spanish Enclave In North Africa To Gain Access To Europe Are Sent Back To Morocco

Made it through: Some of the 116 migrants who managed to cross the border during the assault by some 300 people, celebrate after arriving at an immigration centre in Ceuta

Reuters: Spain returns to Morocco migrants who stormed enclave fence

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain sent back to Morocco on Thursday 116 migrants who had stormed the border fence at its Ceuta enclave in North Africa the day before, a Spanish Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Hundreds had attempted to get over the highly fortified border on Wednesday, and 118 made it to Spanish soil. Some of them threw a corrosive substance which left seven police officers with burns.

Police identified the entire group and gave them legal and medical help before starting the process of expelling them, which the migrants accepted, the spokesman said, adding two will be allowed to stay because they are minors.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It is hard to feel sympathetic to migrants who attack border guards by throwing acid at them .... Acid is hurled at police as hundreds of migrants storm border of Spanish enclave in North Africa to gain access to Europe (Daily Mail).

German Chancellor Merkel Averts Political Collapse With A Deal On Migration. But Austria Says They Do Not Want These Migrants

Daily Mail: Merkel's migrant domino effect: Austria say they will send asylum seekers back to Italy and Slovenia after German Chancellor agrees to restrict number of arrivals to save her coalition

* Merkel struck compromise deal with coalition allies over migrant crisis last night
* One plan includes sending asylum seekers back to Austria if they cannot be sent back to their countries of entry into the European Union
* But Austria has warned it could take similar measures along its southern borders
* It could spark a migrant domino effect with migrants ending up back in Italy

Austria has said it will send asylum seekers back to Italy and Slovenia - hours after Angela Merkel agreed to restrict migrant arrivals in Germany to save her coalition.

The German Chancellor struck a compromise deal with her rebellious Bavarian allies, the CSU, last night in a bid to avert a political crisis in Berlin.

Among the proposals is a plan to send back to Austria asylum seekers arriving in Germany who cannot be returned to their countries of entry into the European Union.

But Austria has since said it would be prepared to take similar measures to block asylum seekers at its southern borders with Slovenia and Italy.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Merkel's coalition do not want to go to the polls this summer. They will be trounced if they did .... and they know it. The hope is that the migrant crisis will not be an issue in the October regional elections .... but my initial predictions still hold .... this migrant crisis is far from over, and her coalition partners are going to suffer heavy losses when Germans go to the polls in a few months. As for the deal itself .... the Germans are going to dump these migrants on Austria, who in turn are going to dump these migrants on Italy. As one can understand, the Italians are not amused by this turn of events.

More News On German Chancellor Merkel Averting Political Collapse With A Deal On Migration

German government crisis: Chancellor Angela Merkel gets migrant compromise -- USA Today/DW
Angela Merkel's last-ditch migrant compromise under scrutiny -- DW
Merkel averts political collapse with a deal on migration -- CNBC
Germany's Merkel makes deal with interior minister on migration dispute -- CNN
German interior minister drops resignation threat over migration -- Al Jazeera

EU Migrant Deal Falls Apart

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

France 24: EU migration deal 'agrees that they don’t agree on anything'

After a tense night of negotiations, the European Union’s 28 countries announced that they had reached an agreement on migration on Friday. But many observers are doubtful as to how solid the deal really is.

The EU 28 agreed that they would share the burden of welcoming refugees; that “controlled centres” would be set up within the bloc to accommodate them; that “regional disembarkation platforms” would be set up to process migrants outside of Europe; and that the EU would invest in strengthening its external borders.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I am only surprised that this deal lasted one day. I expected it to last a week or two in order to give German Chancellor Merkel a chance to tell her coalition partners that she is working hard and that a solution to handle the EU migration crisis (that she caused with her open borders policy) is progressing. But they (other EU states) did not even give her that. Here is why the deal fell apart .... Why the EU's new migrant deal fell apart on the same day it was signed (Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner)

More News On The EU Migrant Deal Falls Apart

Europe's migration fiasco: Brussels plan to build EU migrant centre descends into farce as leaders queue to say 'not in my back yard' -- Daily Mail
Migrant crisis: EU leaders split over new migrant deal -- BBC
Migration Deal in Europe Makes No Commitments. Victory Is Declared. -- The New York Times
EU leaders defend migration deal as doubts emerge -- The Guardian

European Leaders Have Reached A Deal On The Migration Crisis

EU leaders take part in a European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium June 28, 2018. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS

Reuters: EU cuts migration deal after marathon talks, differences remain

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders reached a deal on migration in the early hours of Friday, but the pledges made to strengthen borders were vague, and a bleary-eyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded differences remained.

After nine hours of often stormy talks, EU leaders agreed to share out refugees arriving in the bloc on a voluntary basis and create “controlled centers” inside the European Union to process asylum requests.

They also agreed to share responsibility for migrants rescued at sea, a key demand of Italy’s new prime minister, Giuseppe Conte.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The problem with this deal is that a majority of Europeans want the EU to stop migrants from entering the continent .... not putting up a "voluntary mechanism" that will take care of these migrants. It also does not address the real crisis, and that is it ignores the tens of millions who now want to migrate to the EU for a better life. The only thing that this deal really accomplished was giving German Chancellor a temporary reprieve with her coalition partners that she is doing something .... when in reality she is not.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: Europe’s Migration Crisis Is ‘Make-Or-Break’ For The EU

CNBC: Europe’s migration crisis is ‘make-or-break’ for the EU, Germany’s Merkel says

* EU leaders are meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday and Friday to try to wrangle a solution on migration, with the issue leaving Merkel’s own political fate hanging precariously in the balance.
* “Europe faces many challenges, but that of migration could become the make-or-break one for the EU,” Merkel said during a passionate address to the German parliament.
* Merkel’s coalition partner CSU has given her until the end of the EU summit to alleviate the perceived burden of immigration on Germany.
* Europe’s largest economy has taken in around 1.6 million migrants since 2014.

The future of the European Union (EU) rests on the bloc’s ability to find a diplomatic answer to the migration crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday and Friday to try to wrangle a solution on migration, with the issue leaving Merkel’s own political fate hanging precariously in the balance.

The embattled German chancellor wants leaders to finalize the way they decide which European countries will take asylum seekers, and in what numbers. But deep divisions within the bloc mean Merkel is faced with a daunting uphill battle to find a so-called "European solution."

“Europe faces many challenges, but that of migration could become the make-or-break one for the EU,” Merkel said during a passionate address to the German parliament.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's open border policy brought this crisis to where it is today .... and now she wants others to clean it up. I still expect an agreement will be reached when EU leaders meet in the coming days on what needs to be done to resolve this crisis .... it is not in their interests right now to see Merkel gone. But this is a temporary solution. Millions of migrants are still determined to move to Europe, and these measures will only involve shuffling migrants from one country to another. The real impact is when voters go to the polls in the coming months/years. Expect blow-back then, and Merkel and her coalition will probably be the first casualty.

EU Governments Bicker Over Migration Crisis

Map showing main migratory routes into the EU — land & sea

DW: EU leaders meet as divisions cloud asylum and migration talks

Some EU leaders are attending a mini-summit in Brussels. They'll discuss differing approaches to how the bloc can deal with a sustained stream of migrants and refugees seeking a new life in Europe.

The leaders of 16 EU member states gathered in Brussels on Sunday for an "informal working meeting" hastily arranged amid a crackdown on NGO rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea. It is taking place ahead of a critical EU summit on Thursday and Friday.

Recent disputes, mainly in Germany and Italy, have exposed divisions on migration and asylum policy — which the EU has been trying to overhaul since the 2015 migrant crisis — between EU member states.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: As I had mentioned in a post yesterday, this summit is to save Merkel's coalition and her job. But I do not see many EU states backing her, and I am sure that her coalition partners .... facing regional elections this fall that would surely hurt them if this continues .... are looking for a way to ditch her. On a side note. Thanks to German Chancellor's open border policy, more evidence  today that she is fueling the rise of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to its highest ratings .... Migration fight erodes support for German conservatives; far-right AfD gains (Reuters).

More News On Today's EU Summit On The Migrant Crisis

The Latest: EU Migration Crisis -- AP
Merkel presses over migration as 'European solution' fails -- Reuters
EU leaders back Africa, Balkans migrant reception centers -- AP
Divided EU leaders meet over migration at 'mini-summit' -- Al Jazeera
Malta, Italy migrant spat leaves German rescue ship in limbo -- DW
Austria threatens to reinstate border checks if Germany turns away migrants at its southern frontier as EU leaders arrive in Brussels for crunch summit on how to tackle crisis -- Daily Mail
Spain committed to European migration solution: PM -- Reuters
Italy criticizes Malta over migrant ship ahead of EU summit -- Reuters
Highlights: EU leaders discuss migration in Brussels -- Reuters

Italy Orders Boats With 1,000 Migrants To Go Back To Libya

Daily Mail: Italy orders seven boats with 1,000 migrants on board to go back to Libya days after turning away another ship carrying 234 people

* NGO Proactiva Open Arms said Italy wants the Libyan coast guard to intervene
* The Italian coast guard apparently told the aid group: 'We don't need your help'
* Hard-line minister Matteo Salvini told NGOs not to 'interrupt' Libyan authorities

Italy is seeking to have seven boats carrying roughly 1,000 migrants needing rescue off Libya taken back to North Africa, according to a Spanish aid group.

Proactiva Open Arms, which has rescued thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean, said the Italians want the Libyan coast guard to conduct the rescues and return the migrants.

Proactiva said in a tweet that Italian coast guard authorities who coordinate rescues sent out advisories to all ships in the area but told the aid group: 'We don't need your help.'

In a tweet on Sunday, hard-line interior minister Matteo Salvini said: 'It's right that the Libyan authorities intervene, as they've been doing for days, without having the NGOs interrupt them and disturb them.'

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Italy is making it very clear to the NGOs that are picking up migrants in the Mediterranean that they are through working with them, and that since their actions are only helping the smugglers, they will seize their ships. In response to both Italy's s and Malta's refusal to permit ships to enter their ports, my prediction is that Spain is now going to be the primary point of entry for migrants looking for a way to enter Europe .... Hundreds of migrants rescued off the coast of Spain (France 24).

EU Leaders To Convene On sunday For Emergency Talks On Migration

Reuters: Divided EU leaders convene for emergency talks on migration

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders gather in Brussels on Sunday in an attempt to bridge their deep divisions over migration, an issue that has been splitting them for years and now poses a fresh threat to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Though arrivals across the Mediterranean are only a fraction of what they were in 2015, when more than a million people reached Europe, a recent opinion poll showed migration was the top concern for the EU’s 500 million citizens.

Under heavy pressure from voters at home, EU leaders have been fighting bitter battles over how to share out asylum seekers in the bloc.

Unable to agree, they have become more restrictive on asylum and tightened their external borders to let fewer people in. They have given money and aid to countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East to keep people from heading for Europe.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This emergency meeting is being put together to save German Chancellor Merkel's job .... German Chancellor Merkel's Government Avoids Collapse Over Migrant Battle (For Now) (June 18, 2018). This summit is also a sad reflection on the terrible damage that Merkel has done to the European Union ....  that this is now the primary issue driving the EU .... Westerm Politics Is Now Being Driven My Immigration Fears (June 20, 2018). Will she survive .... it all depends if her coalition partners want to go to the polls. Going to the polls now may save them but it will mean the end of Merkel. Going to the polls later and ruling the country against the will of the people will only fuel more support for groups like the AfD party that will probably make them the biggest party (or close to it) in the next election.

No Takers In Africa For The EU Plan To Open Migration Centers

The Guardian: EU admits no African country has agreed to host migration centre

Plan to prevent deaths at sea revealed as Italy cries foul over summit called to help Germany

The European Union’s most senior migration official has admitted that no north African country has yet agreed to host migrant screening centres to process refugee claims.

Details of an EU plan to prevent migrants drowning at sea emerged on Thursday after Italy criticised the agenda of an emergency summit for not offering enough to help it cope with arrivals.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, said the EU wanted to “intensify cooperation” with Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Niger and Morocco, as he announced the intention to create a “regional disembarkation scheme”.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is another example to me on how stupid and clueless the people in the EU who handle immigration issues are when it comes to immigration. Of course no North African country is going to accept this EU offer to open migration centers, because they know that if they did they would be swamped very quickly by hundreds of thousands of migrants (if not more) from all-over Africa in a very short period of time.

Westerm Politics Is Now Being Driven My Immigration Fears

Reuters

AFP: Immigration fears fuel crisis in Western politics

Washington (AFP) - One issue now dominates political debate within the major Western democracies, and that one issue could now divide the West upon itself: migration.

Donald Trump is trying to ride a tide of anti-immigration feeling to a victory for his Republican supporters in the US mid-term elections in November.

Angela Merkel is hoping to rise above the waves with her shaky German coalition intact, without ceding too much ground to the hardline mood.

New coalition governments in Austria and Italy have brought hardline voices from the fringe of the migration debate into the halls of power.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This blog has been raising the issue of migration for ten years, so I am not surprised with what is now happening. Out of curiosity I went down memory lane and I found this post that I put up seven years ago on February 22, 2011 ..... Europe Now Fearful Of A Massive Influx Of Refugees From Libya And Neighboring States. I predicted at the time that 2,000,000 from Libya would make their way to Europe if the Libyan state should collapse, and even more from other states.  So of course .... wanting to see if my analysis was correct, I checked tonight and found that since 2011 the number of migrants from Libya and surrounding countries that have gone to Europe is (drum roll) over 5,000,000 and counting.