EU Leaders Convene for Emergency Talks on Migration

Brussels, July 16 (Prensa Latina) The European Union (EU) Ministers of Foreign Affairs will have an ''emergency'' meeting in Helsinki on Wednesday in an attempt to bridge their deep divisions over migrant rescue missions in the Mediterranean.

Such a meeting, an initiative of France and Germany supported by Finland - in charge of the pro tempore chairmanship of the EU -, hopes to lay the foundations of a 'coalition' of nations willing to share migrants rescued, without having to engage in harsh negotiations on a case-by-case basis.

In the letter of invitation to their European counterparts, the Finnish Minister of the Interior, Maria Ohisalo, assured that 'the situation in the Mediterranean Sea requires our immediate involvement'.

It is aimed at setting up 'strong provisions for what follows the search and rescue operations, in order to guarantee a rapid response after the landing,' according to the statement.

The Finnish official pointed out that such treaties 'must be based on a shared responsibility involving a wide-large number' of nations.

The figures of migrants' arrivals at the European coasts were drastically reduced since the arrival of over a million migrants in 2015, but the division between the European governments did not diminished, while the Mediterranean countries of the EU are asking for more support and solidarity.