Asylum seekers are now political pawns in a disharmonious EU

The fate of the Aquarius, a Doctors without Borders rescue ship left stranded for hours in the Mediterranean carrying 629 African migrants, is a stark reminder of the EU’s ongoing stalemate on asylum policy.

• Ruvi Ziegler
• The Conversation

The new Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, ordered ports to refuse docking to the ship, prompting a rhetorical revolt by several Italian mayors.

Malta also refused docking, claiming that the rescue occurred in the Italian search and rescue zone.

As the ship’s supplies were running out, Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, stepped up to the plate and…

• Asylum seekers are…