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Politics

Key EU states to hold mini-summit on migration Sunday

June 20, 2018

Germany, France and key European states will hold an informal meeting on Sunday to address migration. It comes as the EU shifts into overdrive to strike a migration deal ahead of a leaders summit on June 28-29.

https://p.dw.com/p/2zuyY
Belgien Europaflaggen in Brüssel
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange

Several European leaders will convene in Brussels on Sunday for an "informal" meeting on migration, amid a series of disputes causing strain across Europe.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he called an "informal working meeting" for EU states "interested in finding European solutions" on migration and asylum issues ahead of a critical EU summit on June 28-29.

Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece and Bulgaria are expected to attend the mini-summit.

The EU has long struggled to overhaul its asylum system as more than 1.5 million migrants and asylum seekers have reached the EU since 2015.

A political crisis in Germany over migration is threatening the ruling coalition, making finding a common European solution a priority for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she heads into the EU leaders summit at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, a new populist government in Rome is piling pressure on EU states to share the burden of migrants and strengthen the EU's external borders as Italy has taken in nearly 700,000 migrants since 2013.

Major issues likely to dominate Sunday's meeting are reforming the Dublin Regulations, strengthening the EU border force, setting up asylum processing centers outside the EU and refugee distribution across the bloc. 

Read more:  Glossary of terms: asylum, refugees, migration 

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