EU Struggling to Deal with Large Influx of Migrants

BRUSSELS— European Union nations are struggling to confront the challenge of the unprecedented numbers of migrants coming across the Mediterranean and have few answers to contain the humanitarian catastrophe highlighted by reports that 400 people dro...

In this picture taken on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 a woman waits to disembark from an Italian Navy vessel in the harbor of Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. The precise number of migrants who have perished in the Mediterranean sea as they flee poverty, war and other conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Asia is unknown. Only the bodies that wash ashore or are found drowned in the sea or dead aboard, of thirst or exposure, by rescuers are counted. AP Photo/Adriana Sapone

BRUSSELS—European Union nations are struggling to confront the challenge of the unprecedented numbers of migrants coming across the Mediterranean with few answers to growing problem. The humanitarian catastrophe was  highlighted by reports that 400 people drowned this week, a problem that is expected to worsen as the weather gets warmer and more people attempt the perilous crossing.

Driven chiefly by poverty and conflict, some 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers have sought to sneak into the EU over just the past week and the European nations have no clear response ready.

The spring crossing season will inflate those figures over the weeks to come, yet there are no emergency EU meetings planned or proposals ready to be implemented.

The EU’s top migration official, Dimitris Avramopoulos, warned this week that these tragic scenes are “unfortunately the new norm and we will need to  adjust our responses accordingly.”