Credible response urged from EU leaders

Bitterly divided European leaders will seek to find a credible response to the worst migration crisis affecting the continent since World War Two, at an emergency summit next week.

European Council president Donald Tusk, who chairs EU summits, on Friday called on EU leaders to stop shifting the responsibility onto others and to build a credible migration policy.

Refugees are increasingly entering from Turkey to Greece and then up through the impoverished Balkans to the former Yugoslavia, including Croatia and Slovenia. The influx of refugees, most of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has led to bitter recriminations between European governments and the temporary closure of national borders, undermining one of the most tangible benefits of the union. “If you don’t cope with this crisis, then I think the EU will fall apart,” said a senior EU official.