(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) France said on Monday it would support a European Union (EU) plan to establish quota systems for member States to accept illegal migrants, most of them from the Mediterranean region.
Tens-of-thousands of migrants seek to reach EU territory each week, mostly via Libya or other North and West African countries and landing in Italy. Thousands die in their attempt because of unseaworthy vessels or from being abandoned on the high seas by traffickers who are making a fortune expoliting refugees from war-torn areas of the Middle East and Africa.
There are also a number of economic refugees and migrants, seeking to escape poverty, drought and other conditions.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told "RTL" radio that the EU plan, due to be discussed in Brussels on Wednesday, was "partly inspired by propoposals made by France" and he said it was "reasonable" to redistribute the responsiblity for accepting migrants among all EU countries.
Most migrants are held in Italy, pending processing of their asylum requests, and Rome is bitterly complaining it is being left to handle this massive problem, alone.
But some of the small nations in the 28-member EU are not in agreement on quotas which they see as an unfair burden on them, and they could block the EU plan which needs unanimous support on Wednesday.
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