EU weighs plans to impose rules on NGO migrant rescue ships

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union interior ministers have weighed proposals to ease tensions between France and Italy over migrants arriving without authorization. The proposals include a possible crackdown on charity-run ships doing search and rescue work in the Mediterranean Sea. In recent weeks, several hundred people hoping to enter Europe have been stranded at sea aboard aid ships while countries bicker over whether and where they should be allowed to disembark. It comes during a year in which more than 90,000 migrants have arrived in Europe though the Mediterranean. European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said Friday that “we need dialogue, and we need rules, and we need order.” He says the Mediterranean rescue work cannot be like the “Wild, Wild West.”