The Jesuit Refugee Service expressed disappointment on April 24 with the measures announced by the European Union to respond to the accelerating migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, describing the outcome after meetings in Brussels as “a lost opportunity.” James Stapleton, the international communications coordinator for J.R.S. , told Vatican Radio that J.R.S. was hoping for something “much stronger” to emerge from E.U. emergency discussions—a resettlement plan with a greater focus on saving peoples’ lives as well as tackling the migrant crisis at its roots. Instead, he said, E.U. representatives agreed “on a raft of measures” aimed at “hiding the problem.” Noting that British Prime Minister David Cameron had pledged ships, helicopters and other resources but at the same time said his government was not prepared to accept any more asylum seekers in Britain, Stapleton said, “What’s happening is a shirking of responsibilities” rather than “a sharing of responsibilities” for dealing with the migrant crisis.
J.R.S. ‘Disappointed’ By E.U. Response
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