European interior ministers held talks on Saturday to strengthen border controls, improve emergency response times and establish fast-track procedures for returning some migrants.
The gathering of 17 ministers from the European Union and Britain comes as the 27-member bloc works to strengthen migration controls following the implementation in June of a migration and asylum pact.
Asylum applications in Europe have fallen sharply in recent months, and fewer migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean, although their treacherous journeys have become deadlier than last year.
“There is a need for a new European migration crisis mechanism,” said German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, alluding to some emergency situations of “waves of illegal border crossings.”
Citing an influx of migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta, which borders Morocco, caused divisions in Europe, Dobrindt called for new rules to identify border emergencies, a mechanism to respond to them and a syst
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EU, UK ministers seek stronger border controls, faster migrant returns
