European Commissioners on Wednesday approved a proposal to introduce an emergency mechanism to relocate 40,000 migrants within the EU over the next 24 months, 24,000 from Italy and 16,000 from Greece, European sources said.
However, the mechanism will only apply to Syrians and Eritreans who arrived in the two countries after April 15 of this year.
The proposal will now go before the European Parliament, where a majority has previously voted in favour, and EU leaders.
About 10 European governments have said they are opposed and Spain and France have expressed reservations. The key tests will be the June 15 council of EU interior ministers and the June 26 summit of European leaders.
The emergency mechanism for an intra-EU relocation of 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy (24,000) and Greece (16,000) will only apply to Syrians and Eritreans who arrived in the two countries after April 15 of this year, the European Commission said in a proposal approved Wednesday. The EC proposal will be put to EU leaders, who have been increasingly split on the re-allocation of migrant quotas after an initial apparent agreement.
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