Diplomats warn of ‘blood on the walls’ after EU leaders stitch up deal to force Eastern European countries to take their share of 160,000 refugees
- EU leaders have stitched up a deal to force countries to take more refugees
- Eastern European countries told they will have to welcome asylum seekers
- Mandatory quota system to relocate 160,000 people from Greece and Italy
- Britain is able to refuse to take part in system as it has opt-out agreement
EU leaders have tonight stitched up a deal to force countries to take in refugees against their will.
Eastern European countries were told they would have to welcome thousands of asylum seekers
under the mandatory quota system to relocate 160,000 people from Greece
and Italy after they were out-voted at a Brussels summit.
Diplomats
warned the decision to over-rule the autonomy of countries on such a
sensitive issue was a ‘big moment’ in the history of the union and could
lead to ‘blood on the walls’.
Eastern European countries were told
they would have to welcome thousands of asylum seekers under the
mandatory quota system to relocate 160,000 people from Greece and Italy
after they were out-voted at a Brussels summit. Pictured: Hundreds of
desperate refugees cross the Hungarian border into Austria today
Slovakia immediately announced it
would defy the decision following the deal, with Prime Minister Robert
Fico saying that 'as long as I am prime minister, mandatory quotas will
not be implemented on Slovak territory'
The
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary tried to block the plan
but their vehement opposition was over-ridden after it was decided to
use a majority vote at the meeting of interior ministers rather than
consensus.
Britain
is able to refuse to take part in the quota system to distribute
refugees already in Europe as it has an opt-out, along with Denmark.
Slovakia
immediately announced it would defy the decision. Prime Minister Robert
Fico said: ‘As long as I am prime minister, mandatory quotas will not
be implemented on Slovak territory.’
A
diplomat from one of the countries opposed to the plan described the
atmosphere around the council table as ‘terrible’, adding: ‘This is a
bad day for Europe.’
Countries in favour of the quotas showed little grace after forcing them through.
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French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the plan had been approved by a ‘crushing majority’.
‘This decision is testament to the capacity of Europe to take responsibility and progress,’ he said.
The
controversial decision came as Theresa May demanded the EU ‘get on with
the job’ of securing its borders as figures showed only a third of
those arriving in Italy and Greece are being properly registered and
fingerprinted.
The European Commission admitted the chaos that is allowing tens of thousands to stream into Europe unchecked was ‘not optimal’.
At
tonight’s summit, ministers used a majority vote to force the crucial
decision on the European Commission plan to relocate a further 120,000
asylum seekers from Italy and Greece.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (above) said the plan had been approved by a ‘crushing majority’
Countries
had already agreed a plan to distribute 40,000 voluntarily at a meeting
last week but the new mandatory quotas being pushed by countries
including Germany were highly contentious.
Hours
before the meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to do
everything to resolve the redistribution of refugees by consensus,
rather than simply outvoting Eastern European countries that strongly
oppose the plan.
She
said: ‘It’s worth every effort to do everything to be able to decide by
consensus among the 28 member states, rather than by qualified
majority, on important questions such as the distribution of refugees.’
But
at the summit the decision was taken by a majority vote, with four
Eastern European countries opposing and Finland abstaining.
As long as I am prime minister, mandatory quotas will not be implemented on Slovak territory
Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico
Britain did not have a vote because it has already opted out of taking part.
Prague warned that the scheme would be unworkable and could end in ‘big ridicule’ for governments and EU authorities.
‘We
will soon realise that the emperor has no clothes. Common sense lost
today,’ Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec tweeted after the vote.
Ukip MEP Jane Collins said: ‘There is now no escaping the fact that immigration will be decided by Brussels.
‘What
we have witnessed today is four countries who wish to control who
settles in their country being outvoted by foreign government.’
As she arrived at the summit, Home Secretary Theresa May said the EU needed to take urgent measures to tackle the crisis.
She
said: ‘We need to get on with the job of the wider measures that need
to be taken, of ensuring we are breaking the link for economic migrants
between making this dangerous journey and settling in Europe so we need
to return those people who are illegal economic migrants and have no
right to be here.
‘And
we need to make sure that people arriving at Europe’s borders are being
properly dealt with and properly fingerprinted so that decisions can be
made and where they’re illegal economic migrants they can be returned.’
Hours
before the meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) pledged to do
everything to resolve the redistribution of refugees by consensus,
rather than simply outvoting Eastern European countries that oppose the
plan. It came as Theresa May (right) said the EU needed to take urgent
measures to tackle the crisis
According
to EU figures, in the first seven months of this year 252,000 people
illegally crossed the borders into Greece and Italy, but only 85,000
were properly registered and fingerprinted as they should be under EU
rules.
The
leaders of all 28 member states – including David Cameron – will today
head to Brussels to discuss how the EU if failing to cope with the
migration crisis.
In
a letter to the leaders ahead of the summit, European Council president
Donald Tusk said they needed to look at the ‘brutal reality’ of the
situation.
‘We
as Europeans are currently not able to manage our common external
borders, hence some States decided to protect themselves by closing
their national ones,’ he wrote.
‘The protection of the European community is our first duty and obligation and we have failed on this front.’
The
EU’s border-free travel area, the Schengen Zone, has unravelled in the
past fortnight as Germany, Austria, Slovenia have brought back checks.
It
is highly embarrassing for the European Union who just a few months ago
celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the agreement.
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