BRUSSELS: EU states have pledged to take 34,000 refugees directly from Africa and the Middle East, officials said on Wednesday, a day after the UN criticised the bloc’s “inhuman” cooperation with Libya to stop migrant boats.

Sixteen countries have so far offered places to meet the European Commission’s goal announced in September of taking at least 50,000 refugees over the next two years under the bloc’s resettlement programme.

“I welcome the strong commitment shown by member states to reduce irregular and dangerous routes and enhance safe and legal pathways,” EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said. “I urge the others to follow soon.”

The scheme is aimed at discouraging migrant boats from making the risky Mediterranean crossing, which is still causing deaths more than two years after the migration crisis first hit the continent in 2015.

“We are exiting crisis mode gradually and we are now managing migration in a spirit of partnership and shared responsibility, inside and outside the EU,” Avramopoulos said.

The EU also warned of further legal action against three of the bloc’s eastern countries if they continue to refuse to accept refugees from Greece and Italy under the quota system.

“I hope that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will take this opportunity to, let’s say, revise their position and start relocating refugees,” Avramopoulos said.

“If nothing should change, as you know the commission has the power to take things one step further.” The quota scheme, under which member states were required to share the burden of frontline EU states, was wrapping up with just 750 people left in Greece and 3,100 in Italy left to relocate, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2017