This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7754097.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| EU ready to accept 10,000 Iraqis | EU ready to accept 10,000 Iraqis |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The European Union says it is ready to accept up to 10,000 Iraqi refugees, many of whom are living in extreme hardship in Jordan and Syria. | The European Union says it is ready to accept up to 10,000 Iraqi refugees, many of whom are living in extreme hardship in Jordan and Syria. |
| The agreement came at an EU meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where interior ministers received a new report on conditions at refugee camps. | The agreement came at an EU meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where interior ministers received a new report on conditions at refugee camps. |
| Germany said it would take in about 2,500 of the refugees. | Germany said it would take in about 2,500 of the refugees. |
| Priority will be given to those with medical needs, torture victims, single mothers and religious minorities. | Priority will be given to those with medical needs, torture victims, single mothers and religious minorities. |
| Sweden says it received about 18,000 Iraqi asylum seekers in 2007 - more than half the total that entered the EU last year. | Sweden says it received about 18,000 Iraqi asylum seekers in 2007 - more than half the total that entered the EU last year. |
| Sweden has a well-established Iraqi community totalling about 100,000 but says other EU countries should take in a bigger share of Iraqis, who have mostly fled violence and poverty. | Sweden has a well-established Iraqi community totalling about 100,000 but says other EU countries should take in a bigger share of Iraqis, who have mostly fled violence and poverty. |
| A UK Home Office spokesperson said the UK had "already shown its clear determination to support Iraqi refugees through the Gateway Programme, with over 200 people resettled in the UK since April and more arriving in the coming months". | |
| "We will continue to work with our European partners to ensure that Iraqi refugees are resettled across Europe," the spokesperson added. | |
| An EU expert group that toured Iraqi refugee camps in the Middle East recently said conditions were worsening for most of the refugees, because their savings were dwindling and they did not have work permits, German media reported. | An EU expert group that toured Iraqi refugee camps in the Middle East recently said conditions were worsening for most of the refugees, because their savings were dwindling and they did not have work permits, German media reported. |