(AP) The European Union should put a priority on stopping illegal migration instead of trying to persuade the 27 member nations to share responsibility for people who arrive without authorization, the prime ministers of Italy and Poland said Wednesday.
Italy’s right-wing leader, Premier Georgia Meloni, traveled to Warsaw for a meeting with her conservative Polish counterpart, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. As a country that is one of the first stops for asylum-seekers who cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, Italy is eager to reduce their number.
Poland and Hungary last week vetoed a statement by EU leaders on priorities for limiting arrivals, and the two countries voted against a June 8 agreement that balanced the obligations of front-line countries against the requirement for other member nations to provide support.