About 23 migrants are missing after a boat set off from Tunisia in the direction of Italy, the North African country’s national guard has said.
Tunisia has been grappling with a severe migration crisis due to an influx of people from other countries in Africa and the Middle East seeking to migrate to Europe in boats.
It has replaced Libya as a main departure point for people trying to reach the West.
The national guard said it had deployed floating units and had informed the navy to help in the search for the missing people.
On Thursday, a majority of EU members called for more agreements with countries where migrants depart from or travel through to get to Europe, saying the EU needs to think outside the box to tackle irregular migration into the 27-member bloc.
It came a day after the European Union endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s asylum system as campaigning for Europe-wide elections next month gathers pace, with migration expected to be a key issue.
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum lays out rules for EU members to handle people trying to enter without authorisation, from how to screen them to establish whether they qualify for protection to deporting them if they are not allowed to stay.
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However, the vast reform package will only enter force in 2026, bringing no immediate fix to an issue that has fuelled one of the EU’s biggest political crises, dividing nations over who should take responsibility for migrants when they arrive and whether other countries should be obligated to help.
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