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EU proposes to pay nations for taking in those saved at sea

Migrants, part of a group intercepted aboard two dinghies off the coast in the Mediterranean Sea, rest on a rescue boat upon arrival at the port of Malaga, Spain May 22, 2018. Picture taken May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

The European Commission is proposing that EU member states be paid 6,000 euro (£5,300) to accept and deal with each migrant saved at sea in the Mediterranean as they attempt to reach the European Union.

The EU's executive said it wants to offer "full financial support" to any member state volunteering to set up so-called controlled centres where people in need of international protection and those who have no right to stay in the 28-nation bloc will be assessed.

The leaders of EU member states decided in a summit last month how to deal with the pressures of migration after they accommodated Italian demands for more help.

EU member states will start discussing the matter on Thursday.