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3rd LD Writethru: EU ministers agree "by larger majority" to relocate 120,000 refugees

Xinhua, September 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Union (EU) ministers adopted a plan to relocate 120,000 migrants at an emergency meeting on Tuesday.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council said on twitter that EU ministers adopted the plan "by larger majority" of member states.

EU ministers agreed earlier this month on a plan to relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece under a compulsory scheme.

Following this decision, the EU is now in a position to relocate a total of 160,000 people in clear need of international protection in the coming two years.

The European Commission welcomed the result in a statement following the emergency talks and made salutations in particular to Luxembourg, the current holder of the EU presidency.

The EU executive body said it will organize the necessary coordination with member states and the EU agencies to implement the mechanism on the ground.

Relocation is part of a comprehensive approach to deal with the ongoing refugee crisis, the European Commission said.

The interior ministers are now expected to move forward on the other proposals made by the European Commission, including the EU List of Safe Countries of Origin and the further reform of the Dublin system, at the next Justice and Home Affairs Council on Oct. 8.

At the same time, the European Commission pledged to address the root causes of the refugee crisis. The statement said Wednesday's meeting of EU heads of state and government would discuss the immediate priority actions which are necessary to address the instability in EU's vicinity, and the refugee pressures on neighboring countries.

However, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania Tuesday voted against the proposal, insisting their opposition to the compulsory quotas during the emergency talks.

Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, who has disputed the legality of the quota system, said the plan was an "empty political gesture" ahead of the meeting.

The minister previously said his country was ready to take in thousands of people, but on a voluntary basis.

A massive influx of migrants in search of refuge in European countries has put mounting pressure in recent weeks.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with leaders of Germany and France, have been pressing all member states to support the Commission proposals. Endit