The announcement from the EU’s executive will now kick off fraught negotiations within the 27-nation bloc as countries are increasingly wary of volunteering to take people in.
The bloc adopted a sweeping overhaul of its migration policies in 2024, which is soon to come into force.
A key element is a new “solidarity” system aimed at easing the burden on countries in the Mediterranean deemed by Brussels to be under “migratory pressure”.
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Other countries will be required to either take in a share of asylum seekers from these frontline countries or provide them with financial support amounting to €20,000 ($23,000) per person.
EU states have been lobbying hard to influence the decision by the European Commission, delaying the announcement by a month.
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On Tuesday, the bloc’s executive listed the most obvious candidates in the category requiring help.
“Greece and Cyprus are under migratory pressure due to the disproportionate level of arrivals over the last year,” the commission said in a statement.
“Spain and Italy are also under migratory pressure because of a disproportionate number of arrivals following search and rescue at sea in the same period.”
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The announcement will now form the basis for negotiations among member states on how many additional asylum seekers each is willing to accept — or how much financial support they are ready to offer.
A string of countries have already insisted they will not take in anyone under the scheme and will only contribute financially.
With governments across the bloc under pressure to tighten immigration policies, offering to take in extra asylum seekers is fraught with political risk.
At least 30,000 migrants will need relocating each year under the new system, with the final number still to be determined and a decision on who goes where required by the end of December.
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