German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she was more open to French President Emmanuel Macron's plans to reform migration and defence policy in Europe than his hopes to bolster the euro.

"I'm not saying that none of the things he wants will happen," Merkel said in an interview with ARD public television.

But the 40-year-old French leader has plans for the 19-nation eurozone "that he knows are not the right ones as far as I'm concerned," she added.

German and French ministers are set to meet later this month to find common ground on EU reform, ahead of a meeting of all EU leaders on June 28-29.

Merkel singled out Macron's hope for a jointly managed investment budget of "one or two percent of gross domestic product" in the single currency area as overambitious.

Many Germans fear ending up on the hook for debts run up by other EU members, and the chancellor last week suggested that a "limited" investment budget of a few tens of billions of euros would be enough.

Nevertheless, Merkel rejected accusations that Germany has failed to meet ambitious French proposals with a vision of its own.

EU nations' failure to speak and act with one voice abroad is a "danger", Merkel warned, as is the fact "that we have no collective approach to the question of managing migration," vital if freedom of movement within Europe's borders is to be upheld.

The German leader called for an EU-wide asylum authority and collective standards for granting or refusing applications for protection, as well as a joint border protection force.

"We need a real European border police that can act if necessary even if it displeases one of the (EU) states with external borders."

Conflict over how to share the burden of asylum seekers has caused rifts in the EU, with border states like Italy and Greece complaining they are overstressed while east European nations reject any move to redistribute migrants among member countries.

Spain offers to take in stranded migrant ship
Rome (AFP) June 11, 2018 - Spain offered Monday to take in a ship stranded in the Mediterranean with 629 migrants aboard after Italy and Malta refused to let the vessel dock in their ports.

The ship Aquarius warned that fresh food and drink supplied by the Maltese navy on Monday would only last until Tuesday.

The migrants, including pregnant women and scores of children, were saved by the French charity SOS Mediterranee on Saturday.

Malta and the new populist government in Italy each refused to take the migrants in, accusing each other of failing to meet their obligations.

The refusal to accept the Aquarius in Italy was the first major anti-migrant move since far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini took office this month.

Salvini tweeted "VICTORY" after two days of confrontation with Malta over the migrants ended with Spain's offer of help.

The new Spanish administration headed by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to allow the Aquarius to dock in its eastern port of Valencia, insisting that it was an "obligation" to do so.

But Spain's new foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said the gesture was also intended to underline the need for solidarity from the entire bloc.

"Italy has received an enormous influx of migrants and so far other European countries haven't shown much solidarity," Borrell told a news briefing in Madrid.

There was, he said, a "need for Europeans... to face up, in a united and coordinated manner, to a problem that is a problem for all, and not just for Greece one year and for Italy the next".

- Fresh supplies -

SOS Mediterranee director general Sophie Beau said Spain's offer "is encouraging and shows that some states are sensitive to the humanitarian emergency".

She warned that the ship will have to travel some 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) to reach the Spanish coast -- which AFP estimates could take at least four days -- and that by Tuesday "there will be no more food (on board) apart from energy biscuits".

"The Aquarius has just received a resupply of 950 bottles of water, 800 packs of noodles and snacks from a vessel of the Maltese navy," the SOS Mediterranee tweeted Monday.

"Food distribution ongoing on board the Aquarius. Despite the resupply this afternoon, food stock will only allow for one more meal tomorrow."

Malta and Italy thanked Spain for stepping up, but maintained their dispute over who was responsible.

Muscat tweeted his thanks to Sanchez "for agreeing to accept the Aquarius after Italy violated international law and caused an impasse".

He added: "It will be necessary to sit down and discuss how to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future. This is a European issue."

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his country had "asked for a gesture of solidarity from Europe and this gesture has been made".

Conte is set to head to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday ahead of the European summit on June 28-29, with a particular focus on migration, Macron's office said Monday.

But Beau said that under maritime law the ship should be allowed to dock in one of the nearest countries, Italy or Malta.

- 'Close the doors' -

The UN had called on Malta and Italy to immediately allow the boat to dock, describing the situation as "an urgent humanitarian imperative".

The EU and the bloc's biggest member state Germany made similar pleas.

"The priority of both the Italian and Maltese authorities should be ensuring these people receive the care they need," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters, calling for a "swift resolution".

But Salvini refused to back down.

"Saving lives is a duty, turning Italy into a huge refugee camp is not. Italy is done bending over backwards and obeying, this time THERE IS SOMEONE WHO SAYS NO," he wrote on Twitter followed by the hashtag #closethedoors.

- 'Vulnerable patients at risk' -

MSF Sea (Doctors Without Borders) said the medical situation of those on the Aquarius was "stable for now but unnecessary delay to disembarkation in safe port puts vulnerable patients at risk."

"Particularly seven pregnant woman, 15 with serious chemical burns and several critical drowning hypothermia patients," MSF Sea said.

Conte said Sunday that Rome had sent two patrol ships with doctors on board "ready to intervene and ensure the health of anyone on board the Aquarius who might have the need".

The migrants were rescued in six separate night-time operations in the central Mediterranean on Saturday.

- 'Land of refuge' -

Under EU rules, migrants must apply for asylum in the European country where they first arrive.

That has put pressure on Italy and Greece, the entry points for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015.

EU leaders in December had set an end-June deadline for an overhaul of rules to create a permanent mechanism to deal with migrants in the event of a new emergency.

The summer of 2016 saw a surge in mass drownings in the Mediterranean, at the peak of Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

$3bn pledged for girls education at G7, delighting Malala
La Malbaie, Canada (AFP) June 10, 2018
Pledges worth nearly $3 billion dollars to help vulnerable women and girls, including refugees, get an education were announced at a G7 summit on Saturday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who hosted his fellow leaders at a Quebec resort, called it "the single largest investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations." Canada will provide $300 million of the total. The amount was more than feminists groups that met with Trudeau on the sidelines of the summ ... read more