EU summit leaders reach migration deal after marathon talks

European Union leaders have reached an agreement on migration after nearly 10 hours of talks at a summit in Brussels. Italy - the entry point of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa - had threatened to veto the conclusions of the group's entire agenda if it did not receive help on the issue. Talks continued into the early hours of Friday before a compromise was reached.


Leaders said that new migrant centres could be set up in EU countries on a "voluntary" basis. These centres would process migrants to determine which are genuine refugees and which are "irregular migrants, who will be returned", the text of their agreement says. However, it was unclear which countries would volunteer to host the centres. The joint communique also speaks of restricting the movement of asylum seekers between EU states.

"After this European summit, Europe is more responsible and offers more solidarity," said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. "Today Italy is no longer alone." It is unclear whether the measures agreed will be enough, and speaking to reporters at 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT), she acknowledged the EU still had "a lot of work to do to bridge the different views".