Mediterranean Disaster: Fears that 30,000 migrants could die crossing Mediterranean in 2015

A dire warning has been issued as survivors of Sunday’s shipwreck arrived in Sicily, after a disaster that left up to 900 people dead.

It is feared that if Mediterranean migrant deaths continue at the same rate, more than 30,000 people could drown before the year is through.

The warning comes from the International Organisation for Migration.

From the United Nations Refugee Agency too, the statistics are grim.

“April 2015 has truly been the cruellest month, the highest numbers that we have seen for deaths in any month on the Mediterranean,” UNHCR Spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.

“We have had so far this year 1,776 reported dead on the Mediterranean.”
Europe is soul-searching after this worst such tragedy in living memory.

 Read more: Fears that 30,000 migrants could die crossing Mediterranean in 2015 | euronews, world news

Greece - Poll: 42.86 % in Eu-Digest Poll say that Greece should not remain in Eurozone

In a recent (March 22 - April 22 ) EU-Digest poll,  42.86 % of the poll respondents said Greece should not remain in the Eurozone, while 28.57 % said they should be given more time to pay off their debt and an equal percentage said they should stay in the Eurozone regardless.

Our new April 22 - May 22 poll reflects the deteriorating refugee - migrant problems facing the EU and asks the following questions

1) EU should block migrants from leaving African and Mediterranean coasts

2)The EU should process migrants and refugees who reached EU shores as legal immigrants

3) The EU done an effective job in coping with this problem so farand should not do anything else

EU-Digest

EU Immigration Policies: EU official accuses UK of spreading ‘myths’ and telling tales about immigration

In a scathing attack on the UK’s immigration policy, a UN official has slammed London for peddling “myths” about an “invasion of foreigners”. Viviane Reding, vice president of the EU Commission, said the scare tactics are part of a strategy to win votes.

Speaking on a webchat on EU citizenship, Reding said British politicians were putting the future of the UK in jeopardy for the sake of their political ambitions. She warned that the political rhetoric about the impending arrival of a wave of migrants, who will take jobs and leech off the welfare system, was a “myth”
 
“Most of the things which are told to the people in Great Britain are myths, [and] have nothing to do with reality.", said Reding.

Reding argues that in fact the arrival of EU migrants, in fact, stimulated the UK economy, causing GDP to grow by “3-4 percent”.
 
“I am mostly frustrated about the political leaders because what is leadership if you just try with populistic movements and populistic speech to gain votes?” said Reding.

She appealed to all of the “reasonable forces” in Britain to dispel the distorted version of events that the UK government has created and explain to people what the European Union really is.

"You are destroying the future of your people, actually,” said Reding, condemning Prime Minister David Cameron’s policy of “populism” and “Euroscepticism”.
 
Reding’s come off the back of a flurry of rhetoric from EU leaders condemning new immigration policies that have been implemented by the UK government. Prime Minister David Cameron has moved to cut immigration to the UK.

Furthermore, the government is also taking measures to restrict migrants’ access to the British welfare system.

Recently David Cameron said he would like to change treaties with the EU that would allow him to cut child benefit for workers from other EU countries.


Almere-Digest