GRANADA/ MADRID: Poland accused Berlin and Brussels of imposing a migration “diktat” on the European Union and Hungary said the bloc was forcing through a deal as EU leaders gathered to tackle the growing number of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa.

The EU summit in the Spanish city of Granada is seeking ways to bring down the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe outside of regular border crossings, something Italy, Spain and Ger­many are especially concerned about.

But the bloc remains at odds about how to share out the task of providing for those who make the journey. A long-stalled deal between member states came together last week despite opposition from populist governments in Poland and Hungary.

The EU’s proposed new agreement on migration aims to ease pressure on frontline countries like Italy and Greece by moving some arrivals to other EU countries. Those opposed to hosting asylum seekers will have to pay those that do so.

The initiative proposes moving migrants from Italy and Greece to other countries

The top migration official in the EU, home to 450 million people, last week said there had been 250,000 irregular arrivals so far this year — far below 2015, when more than a million people made it across the sea, overwhelming the bloc.

But the matter is politically sensitive and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are on the rise in some EU countries ahead of continent-wide European Parliament elections next June.

Arriving at the talks, Hungary’s anti-immigration leader, Victor Orban, said unanimity on migration was impossible because the EU had left Hungary and Poland out of the deal.

“If you are... forced to accept something you don’t like, how would you like to have a compromise and agreement? It’s impossible,” Orban told reporters.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki complained that the EU was forcing his country to accept illegal migrants or face fines.

Migrants arrive on Canary Islands

Spanish coast guards rescued 262 migrants in three boats trying to reach the Canary Islands in the early hours on Friday amid a surge in crossings, Madrid has said it cannot cope with irregular immigration without help from the European Union.

Emergency services said they had brought 103 of the 262 rescued migrants to El Hierro, the westernmost and tiniest of the Canary Islands.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2023