A meeting of the European Union on immigration after a dispute between France and Italy. By chance, Serbia discovers 600 migrants near its borders

European Union interior ministers held an emergency meeting on Friday to try to ease escalating tensions over irregular migration and discuss concerns about a rising number of asylum-seekers arriving through the Western Balkans, after the fate of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean prompted an exchange of tough words between the two countries. Paris and Rome.

Meanwhile, a shooting in a town in northern Serbia led to the discovery of 600 irregular migrants near the border with Hungary.

The meeting, which is being held in Brussels at the request of Paris, comes in the wake of the recent crisis with Rome over the humanitarian ship "Ocean Viking", which had 234 migrants on board.

The ship eventually docked in France on November 11 "exceptionally" after the "far-right" Italian government led by Georgia Meloni refused to receive it.

Relations in the bloc have long been plagued by arguments over who should bear responsibility for those who arrive in the EU on rickety boats to escape poverty or war.

"We cannot and should not work on the basis of a crisis-by-crisis solution, ship-by-ship, incident-by-incident, we need a single framework based on EU law," European Commissioner Margaritis Schinas said upon arriving for the meeting.

Schinas urged member states to agree to new EU-wide legislation on migration.

More than 90,000 migrants and refugees arrived in the 27-nation European Union this year across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Italy or Malta, up 50 percent from 2021.

Southern EU countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece, where most migrants arrive, say they are under great pressure and that the northern EU states are not helping them enough.

Much of the focus is on the arrival of migrants via the Mediterranean, but illegal entry into the EU via the Western Balkans has also increased.

Schinas said that the Commission will also prepare proposals in this regard.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (Reuters)

Law of the sea

On the sidelines of the meeting of the European Union’s interior ministers, the tension between France and Italy emerged clearly, as French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan said upon his arrival in Brussels to participate in the meeting that there is no reason for France to accept immigrants redistributed from Italy if Rome “does not receive boats and does not accept the law of the sea.” ".

Darmanin had announced the suspension of France's reception of 3,500 asylum seekers who are in Italy in response to the latter's "unacceptable" position on receiving migrants stranded at sea. About 12 European countries pledged to receive and care for 8,000 people, but eventually received 117 people.

Last Monday, the European Commission presented an action plan to speed up the refugee transfer mechanism, and the plan also seeks to improve cooperation in the field of rescue at sea between member states, and with non-governmental organizations that operate humanitarian ships, and to “promote discussions within the International Maritime Organization” regarding “guiding principles for these Ships carrying out rescue operations at sea.

Darmanan said, "Our desire is to resume this mechanism because it is the only mechanism that allows burden-sharing throughout Europe, and to force entry countries - such as Italy - to set the borders we need, and to register all foreigners coming to the European region, the situation is not like this now."

The plan also aims to strengthen cooperation with countries of origin and countries of transit - particularly Tunisia, Libya and Egypt - to curb migration and increase the deportation of migrants in an irregular manner.

Paris considers that the goal is also to "frame the work of non-governmental organizations in a better way." Italy - as well as Greece, Malta and Cyprus - criticizes humanitarian organizations that "work their own ships with complete independence from the concerned authorities," while Germany refuses to impose restrictions on the work of these ships that Rescue operations are taking place at sea.

Serbian police discovered 600 irregular refugees after reports of migrants on the street exchanging fire (Reuters)

Discover 600 immigrants

On the other hand, the Serbian Ministry of the Interior said that the police discovered 600 irregular migrants near the border with Hungary today, Friday, after a shooting in a town that injured one person.

The police explained that the incident occurred in the early hours of the town of Horgos in northern Serbia, after receiving reports of immigrants on the street exchanging fire.

She added that they found "6 immigrants, one of whom is about 20 years old, with two gunshot wounds to the chest."

The ministry said in a separate statement, quoting Interior Minister Bratislav Jasic, that the police carried out an operation that eventually resulted in the discovery of 600 migrants in the area, weapons and some of those involved in the shooting.

The Western Balkans route through Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia remains the main migrant route into the European Union, Frontex, the European border agency, said last September.