EU states that refuse to accept migrants should face financial penalties, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday, prompting a furious response from Rome on the eve of an emergency mini-summit in Brussels about the escalating crisis dividing Europe.
Mr Macron's comments came after Italy's new populist government declared that its ports were closed to foreign-flagged rescue ships, after accusing fellow EU members of failing to share the burden of arrivals.
The French president, speaking after talks in Paris with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said member states that benefit from EU cooperation but "claim national self-interest when it comes to the issue of migrants" should have sanctions imposed on them.
The French and Spanish leaders also supported the creation of closed reception centres, located in the countries where migrants often arrive first, to hold asylum-seekers while their claims are processed.
Mr Macron's comments drew a scathing response from Italy's new populist government.
Far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini denounced Mr Macron's "arrogance" over the migrant issue.
"Six-hundred-and-fifty thousand landings in four years, 430,000 applications..., 170,000 apparent refugees currently housed in hotels, buildings and apartments at a cost exceeding five billion euros.
"If for the arrogant President Macron this is not a problem, we invite him to stop the insults and to demonstrate generosity by opening the many French ports and ceasing to push back women, children and men" at the flashpoint Italian border town of Ventimiglia.
Meanwhile, a German charity vessel with more than 230 migrants aboard remained in limbo off the coast of Malta.
"The Lifeline, an illegal ship with 239 immigrants on board, is in Maltese waters," Mr Salvini wrote on Facebook.
"These boats can forget about reaching Italy, I want to stop the business of trafficking and mafia," said Mr Salvini, whose country is on the frontline of the migrant crisis.
Malta also refused to take in the ship, but delivered humanitarian aid.
Mr Salvini's tough talk came on the eve of an informal mini-summit of 16 leaders in Brussels to address how the EU can tackle the renewed influx of migrants and refugees seeking a new life in Europe.
Underscoring the divisions, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – which reject any suggestion of mandatory refugee resettlement among EU members – said they would boycott the meeting.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Saturday said the timing of the mini-summit was "unfortunate" and that a real European solution should come through a full EU summit.
The crisis has also caused anger in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing a rebellion from her coalition allies over her policies.
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Read more:
Italy doubles down on anti-migrant stance ahead of EU summit
Germany pessimistic European migration deal possible
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Earlier this month, Mr Salvini started an EU-wide row when he barred the French charity-run Aquarius rescue ship, carrying 630 migrants, from docking in Italy. The move was echoed by nearby Malta and the ship was later received by Spain.
The neighbours, who are close to the search and rescue zones of ships, squabbled again over the latest rescue vessel Lifeline on Friday, when Salvini said Malta should open its ports.
But Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the Lifeline "broke rules" by ignoring Italy's directions and should move towards its original destination "to prevent escalation".
The Italian government has said both the Lifeline, run by German NGO Mission Lifeline, and another ship Seefuchs, run by German charity Sea-Eye, would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status".
More than 400 migrants were also rescued in three operations off the coast of Spain on Saturday, days after Madrid took in the more than 600 rejected by Italy and Malta.
The Libyan navy said five people died and nearly 200 were rescued off its coast while trying to cross the Mediterranean.
A Danish cargo ship carrying 113 migrants was also stationed near the Sicilian port of Pozzallo waiting for instructions from Italy.
"The European Union must place the preservation and protection of people in distress before any other political considerations," European NGO SOS Mediterranee said on Saturday.
Italy hardline stance comes at a time of great EU tensions on immigration.
Sunday's mini-summit is supposed to prepare for a full summit next week, where 28 EU leaders will discuss plans to overhaul the bloc's asylum system, which has been under severe pressure since the migration crisis exploded in 2015.
Mrs Merkel – facing a political backlash for letting in more than one million asylum seekers into the country with Europe's biggest economy – played down expectations of a quick solution.
"We know that no solution will be reached on Thursday and Friday at the level of the 28 member states... on the overall issue of migration," she said on a visit to Lebanon.
Instead, she said, "bilateral, trilateral and multilateral" deals must be reached to tackle the issue.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has given Mrs Merkel a fortnight to find a European deal to curb arrival numbers, failing which he has vowed to order border police to turn back migrants.
Mr Babis said on Friday he was also ready to start turning away migrants if Berlin and Vienna did so.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
