In news from Europe, officials failed to reach an agreement Monday on how to relocate throughout Europe the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in Greece and Italy this year. As many as 150,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea in 2015 alone. After the officials failed to reach an agreement, Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Union commissioner for migration, expressed his disappointment.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU commissioner for migration: “It is clear member states must deliver on the promises made at the European Council last month to reach the agreed figure of 40,000 persons proposed by the commission. I want to be frank with you: I am disappointed that this did not happen today.”
Meanwhile, as the failed talks were being held, the Italian Coast Guard arrived in a Sicilian harbor with about 600 migrants, whom the navy had rescued at sea over the weekend. Most were from sub-Saharan Africa.