EU again falls short of target for migrant relocation
137,000 people arrived this month in Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta
20 July, 20:46
(ANSA-AP) - BRUSSELS - European Union interior ministers have fallen well short of finding takers for the relocation of 40,000 refugees who have made perilous boat trips across the Mediterranean into Italy and Greece.
At a meeting on Monday the EU nations committed to relocating a total of 32,256 refugees.
The special meeting was called to break a stalemate within the 28-nation EU over how to divide up the refugees in an equitable way over the next two years. It came amid criticism that any solution for the number under consideration would still be insufficient by far to contain the migrants crisis this year.
Earlier this month, the UN said some 137,000 people had arrived in Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta alone, with many more coming by land across the Balkans.
