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EU ministers to hold emergency meeting over migrant crisis

Luxembourg is to host a meeting of all 28 ministers in two weeks to discuss concrete steps to resolve the huge surge in people arriving into the EU.

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Austria begin spot checks on trains carrying migrants

Austrian police begin spot checks on trains to begin returning migrants who have applied for asylum elsewhere. Credit: Reuters

Austrian police have begun checking the hundreds of refugees who have boarded trains from Budapest bound for western Europe - and will return those who have already applied for asylum in Hungary.

The remaining migrants will be given two weeks to apply for asylum in Austria or be returned to their last transit country.

Trains are being stopped at Hegyeshalom on the border with Hungary, with police confirming that no Vienna bound services have left the station as yet.

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EU ministers to hold extraordinary meeting on migrant crisis

European Union ministers have been called to an extraordinary EU meeting on Sept. 14 to discuss a huge surge in irregular immigration, as European leaders struggle to define a coherent response to the crisis.

Luxembourg, which holds the rotating EU presidency and called the meeting, said in a statement:

The situation of migration phenomena outside and inside the European Union has recently taken unprecedented proportions.

In order to assess the situation on the ground, the political actions under way and to discuss the next steps in order to strengthen the European response, the Luxembourg Minister for Immigration and Asylum Jean Asselborn decided to convene an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council.

– Statement announcing the meeting

The meeting will reportedly be focused on return policy, international cooperation, and investigation and measures to prevent human trafficking.

Earlier today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged other European Union countries to accept a greater share of the refugees, as her government struggles to cope with an expected record 800,000 arrivals this year.

May calls for urgent EU action to tackle migration crisis

Theresa May and her German and French counterparts call for emergency meeting to address the migrant crisis in Europe. Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA

Urgent steps must be taken by the European Union to address the growing migration crisis, Theresa May said in a joint call with Germany and France for an emergency meeting of ministers within two weeks.

The Home Secretary said the EU's "broken" system had exacerbated the issue - and called for concrete proposals, such as reception centres to register and fingerprint new arrivals and an agreed list of "safe" countries to speed up asylum decisions, to be drawn up.

The events of this summer have shown that the most tragic consequences of a broken European migration system have been borne by those at risk of exploitation.

And the greatest beneficiaries have been the callous gangs who sell false dreams and trade on the free borders within the EU.

As countries in Europe are increasingly realising, these tragedies have been exacerbated by the European system of no borders, the Schengen area, in which the UK has never taken part.

– Theresa May, writing in the Sunday Times

The discussions with her French and German counterparts took place during a summit in Paris on Saturday discussing rail security measures in the wake of the gun attack on a French train.

Business chief disagrees with May on EU movement

The Confederation of British Industry's director John Cridland has disagreed with Home Secretary Theresa May who has called for the reinstatement of the original free movement principles within the EU, saying people should only be allowed to move freely within the EU if they have a job waiting for them.

Theresa May has spoken out about a return to Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images

The evidence shows that the vast majority of people coming from the EU to the UK come to work and benefit our economy. Our hospitals and care homes couldn't function without overseas workers... But the system must be about freedom to work, not for the minority who do not contribute, so the Government should continue to work with our European partners to make sure the rules are fit for purpose for everyone. We'd be concerned if EU workers had to be hired for a job before coming to the UK though, as this would cause issues for firms without the capacity to advertise and recruit across the whole of Europe.

– John Cridland, CBI Director General

Net UK migration of EU citizens has risen to 183,000

New figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed a record increase in UK net migration this week.

330,000
the difference in the number of people entering and the number leaving the UK, was up 40% on 2014.
183,000
The net migration of EU citizens that arrived in Britain was up 53,000.
61%
of EU citizens immigrating for work had a definite job lined up.
39%
were intending to look for a job rather than taking up an offer of employment.

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