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1st LD Writethru: EU leaders call for urgent actions on migrant crisis

Xinhua, December 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Leaders called for urgent actions to cope with the migrant crisis late Thursday and agreed to adopt position on a controversial border guard package in six months.

"Over the past months, the European Council has developed a strategy aimed at stemming the unprecedented migratory flows Europe is facing," said the leaders in a statement after their first-phase meeting at a summit in Brussels.

"Implementation is insufficient and has to be sped up," said the statement.

Leaders agreed to quickly review the proposals unveiled by the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, to establish a new border and coast guard body which enables Brussels to swiftly response to its border protection.

The proposal also ask member states to cede sovereign rights as, under urgent situation, it may grant the new agency to make deployment to the grounds to protect the bloc's borders without members states' consent.

The statement said the council should rapidly examine the proposals and should adopt its position on the "European Border and Coast Guard" under the Netherlands Presidency, which will be the next six months.

The leaders also stressed that for the integrity of Schengen to be safeguarded, "it is indispensable to regain control over the external borders." Endit