EU Leaders Meet to Discuss Migrant Situation
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Bunyos/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — It is time to take responsibility for the deaths of thousands of migrants at sea, said European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini on Thursday.
European leaders met this week to discuss the thousands who have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Africa into Europe this year, hundreds of whom died when their ships have sunk or capsized. The summit came days after more than 700 people were thought to have died on a boat crossing from Libya.
Mogherini said in her remarks on Thursday that “this is a tragedy not only for the people who die at sea and the countries that save them and host them, but for all Europeans, the European community.”
“We’ll respond in a European way, in a concrete way to this tragedy,” she added. “This is about saving lives, it’s about protecting people, it’s about protecting human rights and security.”
BBC News reports that several European Union member states vowed to provide more ships and resources to improve search-and-rescue operations involving migrant boats. The EU also hopes to capture and destroy smugglers’ boats.
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