The huddled masses at 4,000 euros a head

In an attempt to achieve a more equitable distribution of refugees among member states, the EU has launched a programme of incentives for future host countries, reports El Mundo. "Ten countries will share the burden of asylum seekers, who are currently arriving in huge numbers in southern EU states — like Spain, Italy, and Malta — and also in the more tolerant states like Sweden," explains the Spanish daily, which further adds that for every refugee accepted, host countries will receive a payment of 4,000 euros from the European Fund for Refugees to defray part of the cost of state assistance. "The United Kingdom, Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries have pledged to participate," announced UN High Commissioner for RefugeesAntonio Guterres, in the wake of a meeting of EU interior ministers which agreed to adopt the plan. In the meantime, the NGO Human Rights Watch has publicly condemned the treatment of refugees intercepted in the Mediterranean, who are sent to makeshift centres in Libya where they are "subject to physical abuse" — conditions that Guterres has described as "horrible." The Commissioner emphasized that the UN has "major reservations" about Libya's suitability as a host country for refugees.