Brussels
The E.U. created a rapid-reaction force this week to protect its southern borders against illegal immigrants. Last year, more than 31,000 bedraggled refugees reached Spanish territory, most coming from Africa crammed into tiny boats. Thousands each year drown before reaching their destination. Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Malta have been pleading with the E.U. to help them police their borders. The new border guard teams will be drawn from a pool of 450 agents from all 27 E.U. countries. “It is the best ever example of European solidarity,” said E.U. Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filterThe Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
