EUROPEAN UNION interior ministers met today to make a fresh attempt to thrash out new measures for sharing out responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorisation.

This came the day after more than 1,400 refugees were rescued from the Mediterranean sea off southern Italy.

Europe’s asylum system has long been in a state of collapse, with rising numbers fleeing wars like that in Syria. Under pressure from Italy and other right-led states the EU ended search and rescue operations in 2020.

The 27 EU nations have been bickering over which countries should take responsibility for people arriving without authorisation, and whether inland states should be made to assist destination countries like Italy and Greece.

Arriving for the meeting in Luxembourg, the EU’s top migration official Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said it was an “extremely important day” to resolve what has “been a marathon” issue for Europe.

“Of this marathon, we have maybe 100 metres left. So, we are so close to actually finding an agreement today,” Ms Johansson said. 

Under the existing rules, countries where migrants first arrive must interview and screen them and process the applications of those who might want to apply for asylum.

But Greece, Italy and Malta maintain that the burden of managing the numbers of people coming in is too onerous.

Meanwhile more than 1,400 refugees were rescued by coast guard vessels in the seas off southern Italy in four separate operations. 

The statement said the rescues began late Monday night and ended in the early hours of Wednesday in the Ionian sea off Calabria’s east coast. 

One coastguard vessel took on around 590 people from aboard a fishing boat, and then later brought on around 650 from another fishing boat, the statement said.

Another coastguard motorboat and an Italian border police ship came to the assistance of a fourth vessel, with 130 aboard.