EU nations debating borders, migration policies

LILLE, France (AP) — European Union interior ministers on Thursday were debating ways to beef up the 27-nation bloc’s borders, including by erecting walls or fences, and examine yet again how to kick-start desperately needed reforms to the EU’s malfunctioning asylum system.

The EU has been mired in a deep political crisis since well over 1 million people, many of them refugees fleeing war in Syria, began entering in 2015. Greece was overwhelmed by migrants landing on its islands on rafts and dinghies from Turkey. Other countries were slow or reluctant to help.

The old asylum system, based on the notion that the country where migrants first arrive must deal with them, collapsed. New reform proposals have failed to overcome the fundamental problem – who should take responsibility and what kind of help other countries should provide.

France, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, is trying to reenergize the sweeping reform plan by tackling parts of it at a time.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening met with the interior ministers in a push to “move the issue forward.” Macron acknowledged members states have different views depending on their geographic situation and warned against divisions.

He proposed the creation of a new body, the Schengen Council, that would gather members of the free-passport area to make decisions on migration policies, including preventing difficulties and bringing a quick response in case of crisis.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said Thursday “there can be no migration policy at the European level without a significant dimension of border management.”

"We are now working to accelerate our agreement” on both external borders issue and the asylum system at talks in Lille, northern France, he...