EU, Arab officials urge Europe to consider more refugees
LISBON - A joint meeting of parliamentary speakers from the European Union and Mediterranean Arab countries asked Europe on Monday to consider taking in more refugees.
The parliamentary speakers from more than 30 countries, meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, called for the introduction of larger resettlement quotas for all EU countries as the continent tries to deal with an influx of migrants across the Mediterranean.
The EU's executive Commission is to propose a plan next Wednesday to address the worsening problem of migration, but Hungary, Slovakia and Estonia have already objected to a quota system.
The parliamentary speakers also urged European authorities to establish more humanitarian channels for emergency migrant arrivals and more legal entry points into the EU as part of a broadened response to migration.
