EU urges bickering states to set aside migration differences

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior European Union officials are appealing to member countries to set aside deep differences over migration and press ahead with a long-delayed asylum system overhaul. 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. Tensions between Italy and France are simmering. EU interior ministers will hold emergency talks on Friday to try to find a permanent solution. Asylum reforms have been blocked for years. European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said Wednesday that failing to advance the already detailed reform plan “is like having a parachute but choosing to jump out of the plane without it.”