[Breaking news update at 6:42 a.m. ET]
Germany might take in 1 million refugees this year, not 800,000 as previously projected by the Interior Ministry, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said Monday.
[Previous story, published at 5:26 a.m. ET]
The desperation of the European migrant crisis is growing not just on the part of refugees, but also on the part of countries trying to handle them.
European Union members have agreed to allow for the boarding, search, seizure and diversion of vessels on the high seas suspected of being used for human smuggling and trafficking, an EU official said Monday.
At least 34 people died when a migrant boat capsized near a small Greek island. More than 40 people were found inside a refrigerated truck in Austria. And even Germany, Europe’s most welcoming country in the refugee crisis, is intensifying border control.
EU officials will gather in Belgium Monday to discuss how to handle the mess — and whether countries should have mandatory quotas for accepting more migrants.
Here’s the latest on the emergency spreading across Europe:
Germany clamps down
The migrant crisis in Germany is getting so bad that a former Olympic stadium in Munich has turned into a shelter.
As many as 10,000 migrants are arriving in Germany per day, German Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said. About 16,000 migrants have flooded Munich alone in just the past two days.
Germany — which has committed to taking in 800,000 migrants — has started implementing temporary border controls for “security reasons urgently necessary,” the country’s interior minister said.
“The goal of this measure is to restrict the present inflow of migrants into Germany and return again to an orderly process upon entry,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Sunday.
Germany stopped train traffic to and from Austria from Sunday until Monday morning, Austrian Federal Railways said.
The controls also include border police checking all the cars coming through for identification. Officials then immediately decide whether to allow anyone with Syrian and Iraqi identification to come through.
Death toll rises
A day after a migrant boat capsized off the Greek island of Farmokinisi, officials are finding more bodies.
The death toll rose to 34 Monday, including 10 children, duty officer Vasiliki Patsioura of the Hellenic Coast Guard said.
The coast guard rescued 99 people from the vessel that capsized in the Aegean Sea, coast guard duty
Another record wave
A record number of migrants crossed into Macedonia over the weekend, said Alexandra Krause of the UNHCR — the United Nations’ refugee agency.
About 8,600 people crossed from Greece to Macedonia from Saturday until Sunday, Krause said from the border Monday.
Many migrants are trying to make the arduous journey from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to Germany. To do so, many travel through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and then Germany.
Mandatory quotas possible
So how many migrants should European Union countries take in?
Interior ministers from EU countries will meet in Belgium on Monday to discuss possible mandatory quotas.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed mandatory quotas for EU countries to take in 120,000 refugees who were already in Italy, Greece and Hungary — on top of plans made in May to relocate 40,000 from Italy and Greece.
Germany is on board with the proposals, which must be agreed upon by other EU member states.
Britain announces more help
The British government announced Monday it has appointed a minister to oversee the resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees.
“Richard Harrington will be responsible for co-ordinating and delivering work across Government to resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK, along with co-ordinating the provision of Government support to Syrian refugees in the region,” the government said.
The UK also announced it is increasing its total aid for refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to 1 billion pounds ($1.5 million).
The £40 million will be allocated to the UN and NGO (non-governmental organisation) partners working in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, including British aid agencies like Save the Children, providing shelter, food, relief packages, health and protection services, as well as cash assistance — giving individuals the freedom to decide how best to cover their needs.
Desperate measures
Police discoverd 42 people were inside the refrigerated truck found in Austria, police spokesman Bernd Innerdorfer said.
Police discovered the truck, belonging to a Finnish flower transporter, at a gas station in the city of Aistersheim. It was being driven by two Iraqi nationals, who were arrested and charged with human smuggling.
Eight children were among those rescued. All of them were in good health, did not require any medical attention and were transported to a refugee detention center in the city of Linz, Innerdorfer said.
The migrants are believed to be Syrian and Iraqi, police said, but their identities were not immediately confirmed.
‘Open your heart and help someone’
Fatima Kurdi will never see her toddler nephew again. Aylan Kurdi, his brother and his mother all died trying to escape Syria; a photo of Aylan’s lifeless body washing up on a shore forced the world to take notice of the refugee crisis.
On Monday, Kurdi pleaded for the international community to do more to help those escaping the daily carnage and war-torn countries.
“It is too late for my family, for Aylan, but they need all your help,” Kurdi said at a rally in Brussels, shortly before the EU interior ministers were due to meet on the crisis.
“We need action — a plan to make it happen urgently. And I hope you all understand it could happen to anyone’s family. Open your heart and help someone.”