BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – In late May, the EC proposed to relocate some 40,000 asylum seekers from third world countries, who are currently residing in Italy and Greece, to other EU member states as part of its agenda to manage the crisis of undocumented immigration.
"We understand that some people think our proposal goes too far, some people think it does not go far enough. We think it strikes the right balance and that is what we will be defending," Bertaud said.
The issue will be raised on Tuesday at the Home Affairs Council Of Ministers in Luxembourg.
Europe faces serious problems with undocumented immigration from Northern Africa and the Middle East. According to the United Nations, some 60,000 asylum seekers have tried to cross the Mediterranean, and at least 1,800 of them have died at sea since the beginning of 2015.