The Latest: Macron wants asylum centers to hold migrants

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on immigration issues in Europe (all times local):

French President Emmanuel Macron says that France and Spain want arriving migrants in Europe to be quickly placed in "closed centers" so authorities can decide whether they're eligible to apply for asylum.

Macron spoke Saturday after meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was on his first foreign trip since taking office on June 2. The visit came a day before some EU leaders meet informally in Brussels to try to find a common approach to migration before an EU summit later next week.

Macron is seeking backers for the hot-button issue that he stressed has become a political, not a migration, crisis. Other EU countries such as Italy are pressing an anti-migrant approach.

A proposal by EU Council President Donald Tusk puts those migrant centers outside of Europe.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says his country will reintroduce controls on its border with Italy if Germany were to turn back migrants at its border to Austria.

Kurz told daily German tabloid Bild on Saturday "we would do everything possible to protect our borders ... including border protection at the Brenner" — one of the main Austrian-Italian border crossings.

Kurz' remarks came ahead of a Sunday meeting of European leaders hoping to find common ground for tackling the issue of migrants arriving on European shores— a growing political crisis that is threatening to undermine European Union.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at odds with her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, about how to decrease the influx of migrants to the country. Seehofer has threatened to turn back some migrants at the German-Austrian border if Merkel doesn't find a European-wide solution on migration.

Malta's premier is telling a German aid group to reroute its rescue ship away from the Mediterranean island to avoid further escalation of another European standoff over helping migrants.

The German NGO Mission Lifeline says it has 234 migrants aboard its vessel and is adrift in international waters waiting for a safe port to dock. Italy has refused it entry, saying Lifeline had acted improperly by taking on board migrants who the Italian coast guard had assigned to the Libyan coast guard to rescue.

On Saturday, the Maltese armed forces provided humanitarian supplies to the Lifeline vessel.

Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat tweeted that Malta had "no responsibility" in the rescue and that the Lifeline "should move from its position toward their original destination (in Italy) to prevent escalation" of the situation.

Spanish authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents. Two men were pulled from a canoe.

Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants' attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.

Also, Spain's new center-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.

A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.

European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe's shores in search of better lives — a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.

The leaders of about 16 countries — more than half the 28-nation bloc — will take part in what is being billed as "informal talks" in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves "talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration."

The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws. It has fueled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.</s>Italy's ruling right-wing League party gained ground in local elections at the weekend, strengthening its hand as it cracks down on immigrants fleeing Africa and urges the European Union to revise its policy on asylum-seekers.

ROME: Italy's ruling right-wing League party gained ground in local elections at the weekend, strengthening its hand as it cracks down on immigrants fleeing Africa and urges the European Union to revise its policy on asylum-seekers.

The League, in a governing coalition with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, extended its political reach in a second round of municipal elections on Sunday, taking over some strongholds of the centre-left, which lost power nationally in March.

The results are a boost for League leader Matteo Salvini, who flew on Monday to Libya, staging post for waves of Africans fleeing to Italy in flimsy boats, many with the ultimate aim of settling in other EU countries such as Germany and France.

The elections appeared to confirm opinion poll findings which show the League doubling its support since the March 4 election and putting it on par with its larger coalition partner.

Salvini, who wants the EU to do more to help Libya stop people making the perilous journey, announced his departure for Libya in a Twitter post on Monday, without giving details.

He is due to meet Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala and Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, and appear at a news conference there later on Monday.

Salvini, interior minister responsible for border control, wants his EU partners to revise the rules governing asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean so that the bloc shares out the burden of handling them.

Under current EU rules, responsibility for handling boatloads of asylum seekers rests with the country where they first disembark. Italy, which lies close to North Africa, has taken in some 650,000 boat migrants since 2014.

Salvini's decision to close port access to foreign-registered rescue vessels has caused a standoff with Malta, which also has refused to allow them to dock.

Rescue vessel Lifeline is carrying more than 230 migrants and is stuck in international waters in the Mediterranean.

A private cargo ship, the Alexander Maersk, also has been waiting to be assigned a port since it picked up 113 migrants off southern Italy on Friday, the ship owner said.</s>Milan (AP) — Italy’s populist, anti-migrant interior minister said Friday that Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying hundreds of migrants rescued from rubber dinghies off the Libyan coast to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters.

“We ask humanly and politically that Malta finally opens one of its ports and lets these desperate people disembark,” and then seize the ship, Salvini said.

Malta responded that it would “act according to the laws and applicable conventions,” without further explanation. International law states that Malta must respond if they are the nearest safe port at rescue or if requested by the ship’s captain.

The dynamic is similar to the standoff over the Aquarius, operated by French aid groups, which eventually sailed an additional 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) last week to deliver 630 migrants to Spain after both Malta and Italy refused to let the rescue ship access their ports. Salvini is making good on an election promise to go after rescue ships run by aid groups, which he has likened to taxi services that help the migrant smugglers.

Salvini on Thursday said he would not allow the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline to enter Italian ports, saying that it had acted improperly by taking on board the 224 migrants that the Italian coast guard had assigned to the Libyan coast guard to rescue. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies.

Mission Lifeline said Friday that it still has not been assigned a port, despite its requests. It said it picked up additional migrant passengers during another rescue overnight, and currently was heading north with 234 on board. It said it had responded to a request for help by a merchant vessel to help rescue 113 people.

Lifeline referred to reports that as many as 220 people were missing at sea and presumed drowned, according to survivor statements to the U.N. Refugee agency.

“The latest drownings show how important our sea rescue efforts are, and that not a single rescue ship can be missed,” said Mission Lifeline founder Axel Steier. “The rescue of human lives must be prioritized before border control.”

More than 640,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since 2014, many of whom made their way northward to join family or to countries perceived as providing more assistance until Italy’s neighbors enacted stricter border controls. Arrivals are down some 80 percent this year to around 14,500, as migrants have turned to other routes.</s>BRUSSELS — The Latest on immigration issues in Europe (all times local):

Spanish authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents. Two men were pulled from a canoe.

Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants’ attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.

Also, Spain’s new center-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.

A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.

European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe’s shores in search of better lives — a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.

The leaders of about 16 countries — more than half the 28-nation bloc — will take part in what is being billed as “informal talks” in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves “talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration.”

The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws. It has fueled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The Latest: Macron wants asylum centers to hold migrants

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on immigration issues in Europe (all times local):

French President Emmanuel Macron says that France and Spain want arriving migrants in Europe to be quickly placed in "closed centers" so authorities can decide whether they're eligible to apply for asylum.

Macron spoke Saturday after meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was on his first foreign trip since taking office on June 2. The visit came a day before some EU leaders meet informally in Brussels to try to find a common approach to migration before an EU summit later next week.

Macron is seeking backers for the hot-button issue that he stressed has become a political, not a migration, crisis. Other EU countries such as Italy are pressing an anti-migrant approach.

A proposal by EU Council President Donald Tusk puts those migrant centers outside of Europe.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says his country will reintroduce controls on its border with Italy if Germany were to turn back migrants at its border to Austria.

Kurz told daily German tabloid Bild on Saturday "we would do everything possible to protect our borders ... including border protection at the Brenner" — one of the main Austrian-Italian border crossings.

Kurz' remarks came ahead of a Sunday meeting of European leaders hoping to find common ground for tackling the issue of migrants arriving on European shores— a growing political crisis that is threatening to undermine European Union.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at odds with her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, about how to decrease the influx of migrants to the country. Seehofer has threatened to turn back some migrants at the German-Austrian border if Merkel doesn't find a European-wide solution on migration.

Malta's premier is telling a German aid group to reroute its rescue ship away from the Mediterranean island to avoid further escalation of another European standoff over helping migrants.

The German NGO Mission Lifeline says it has 234 migrants aboard its vessel and is adrift in international waters waiting for a safe port to dock. Italy has refused it entry, saying Lifeline had acted improperly by taking on board migrants who the Italian coast guard had assigned to the Libyan coast guard to rescue.

On Saturday, the Maltese armed forces provided humanitarian supplies to the Lifeline vessel.

Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat tweeted that Malta had "no responsibility" in the rescue and that the Lifeline "should move from its position toward their original destination (in Italy) to prevent escalation" of the situation.

Spanish authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents. Two men were pulled from a canoe.

Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants' attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.

Also, Spain's new center-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.

A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.

European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe's shores in search of better lives — a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.

The leaders of about 16 countries — more than half the 28-nation bloc — will take part in what is being billed as "informal talks" in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves "talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration."

The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws. It has fueled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.</s>SPANISH authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents.

Two men were pulled from a canoe.

Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants’ attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.

Spain’s new centre-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.

But another rescue ship, the Lifeline of the German NGO Mission Lifeline, was stranded in the Mediterranean off Malta after both Italy and Malta refused to let it dock with its 234 migrants.

Lifeline said a merchant vessel, the Alexander Maersk, had another 113 migrants and was also waiting for a port to receive them.

Salvini has demanded that Malta, the EU’s smallest country, allow the Lifeline to dock because it was in the island’s waters.

Maltese authorities on Saturday provided humanitarian assistance to the Lifeline’s passengers but Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat stood firm and insisted that Malta had “no responsibility” for the rescue.

The Lifeline “should move from its position toward their original destination to prevent escalation” of the situation, Muscat tweeted.

A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.

European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe’s shores in search of better lives — a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.

The leaders of about 16 countries — more than half the 28-nation bloc — will take part in what is being billed as “informal talks” in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves “talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration.”

The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws.

It has fuelled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.</s>Italy's ruling right-wing League party gained ground in local elections at the weekend, strengthening its hand as it cracks down on immigrants fleeing Africa and urges the European Union to revise its policy on asylum-seekers.

ROME: Italy's ruling right-wing League party gained ground in local elections at the weekend, strengthening its hand as it cracks down on immigrants fleeing Africa and urges the European Union to revise its policy on asylum-seekers.

The League, in a governing coalition with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, extended its political reach in a second round of municipal elections on Sunday, taking over some strongholds of the centre-left, which lost power nationally in March.

The results are a boost for League leader Matteo Salvini, who flew on Monday to Libya, staging post for waves of Africans fleeing to Italy in flimsy boats, many with the ultimate aim of settling in other EU countries such as Germany and France.

The elections appeared to confirm opinion poll findings which show the League doubling its support since the March 4 election and putting it on par with its larger coalition partner.

Salvini, who wants the EU to do more to help Libya stop people making the perilous journey, announced his departure for Libya in a Twitter post on Monday, without giving details.

He is due to meet Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala and Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, and appear at a news conference there later on Monday.

Salvini, interior minister responsible for border control, wants his EU partners to revise the rules governing asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean so that the bloc shares out the burden of handling them.

Under current EU rules, responsibility for handling boatloads of asylum seekers rests with the country where they first disembark. Italy, which lies close to North Africa, has taken in some 650,000 boat migrants since 2014.

Salvini's decision to close port access to foreign-registered rescue vessels has caused a standoff with Malta, which also has refused to allow them to dock.

Rescue vessel Lifeline is carrying more than 230 migrants and is stuck in international waters in the Mediterranean.

A private cargo ship, the Alexander Maersk, also has been waiting to be assigned a port since it picked up 113 migrants off southern Italy on Friday, the ship owner said.</s>Spanish authorities said they will not admit the Lifeline rescue boat with some 230 migrants on board to its ports. Spain cannot become “the sea rescue organization for all of Europe,” Spanish Economic Development Minister Jose Luis Abalos said, commenting on the issue, as cited by Deutsche Welle. The decision came after the vessel had already been turned away by Italy and Malta. Earlier in June, Spain accepted another migrant rescue ship called Aquarius in a similar situation.</s>Migrants are seen on the deck of Mission Lifeline rescue boat in the central Mediterranean Sea Thomson Reuters By Steve Scherer

ROME (Reuters) - Italy on Friday urged Malta to take in a ship carrying more than 200 rescued migrants as the new government pressures European partners to shoulder more of the burden of immigration from North Africa.

The Dutch-flagged ship run by the German charity Mission Lifeline was seeking a nearby European dock, a day after anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the vessel should take the migrants to the Netherlands.

Earlier this month, Salvini pledged to no longer let charity ships bring rescued migrants to Italy, leaving the Gibraltar-flagged Aquarius stranded at sea for days with more than 600 migrants on board until Spain offered them safe haven. Malta also refused to take in the Aquarius.

"For the safety of the crew and those rescued we humanly and politically ask Malta to finally open one of its ports, and then seize the ship and its crew," Salvini said in Siena, Italy.

Malta, a small island nation, has not taken in large numbers of people rescued at sea, while Italy has seen 650,000 arrivals since 2014.

On Friday, Malta had not received a call for help from the ship, Lifeline, or from Italy's coastguard, Maltese government sources said. Lifeline was sailing about half way between Tripoli and Malta early on Friday.

"Malta cannot back out," Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who oversees the coastguard, said. The European Union's border control agency Frontex "will make an official request to Malta to open its ports", he said.

On Thursday, Toninelli said the Italian coastguard would pick up the 224 migrants, including 14 women and four small children, from Lifeline because it was too dangerous for the 32-metre vessel to travel to the Netherlands with so many on board.

He said the coastguard would escort Lifeline to an Italian port, where it would be impounded pending an investigation into its flag status after the Dutch government denied responsibility for the vessel.

"There is no need for the Italian government to seize the ship for investigations," spokesman Axel Steier said in a statement.

"No port of safety was assigned so far," Steier added. "We call out to the European community, might it be on national or local level, to help find a solution."

While the number of sea arrivals to Italy has dropped dramatically this year - more than 77 percent from last year - the new government has thrust immigration to the top of the EU's agenda ahead of a summit of leaders next week.

Italy's government, sworn in earlier this month after promising to raise its voice on immigration in Brussels, has sparred with France, Malta and Germany ahead of the meeting.

An SWG poll this week showed two-thirds of Italians agree humanitarian boats should not be allowed in the country's ports.

But off the Libyan coast, where people smugglers operate with impunity, the U.N. refugee agency said an estimated 220 migrants drowned this week. The death toll in the central Mediterranean this year is nearing 1,000, the UNHCR said.</s>The Latest on immigration issues in Europe (all times local):

Spanish authorities say they have rescued 569 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Spain by boat.

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service says those rescued Saturday included 264 people in 16 boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, a busy shipping lane with treacherous currents. Two men were pulled from a canoe.

Fair weather and calm seas in recent days have brought an uptick in migrants' attempts to reach the Spanish coast via the Western Mediterranean route.

Also, Spain's new center-left government recently announced a softer stance on migration, extending public health care to foreigners without residence permits.

A week ago, Spain took in 630 migrants from the French aid ship Aquarius after Malta and Italy, which were closer, refused to grant the ship access to their ports.

European Union leaders on Sunday will try to find common ground for tackling migrants arriving on Europe's shores in search of better lives — a growing political crisis threatening to undermine the entire EU project.

The leaders of about 16 countries — more than half the 28-nation bloc — will take part in what is being billed as "informal talks" in Brussels, ahead of a full EU summit on June 28-29, where migration will top the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the meeting involves "talking with particularly affected nations about all problems connected with migration."

The arrival of more than one million people in 2015, most fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq, exposed glaring deficiencies in EU migrant reception capacities and asylum laws. It has fueled tensions among member states, and anti-migrant parties have won votes by fomenting public fears of foreigners.
Politicians from Germany, Spain, and Portugal visit MV Lifeline amid negotiations for the ship to dock in Malta or Italy, both of which have refused permission.