Europe opens door to 20,000 migrants, Britain opts out

Migrants look on before arriving at the Sicilian harbor of Catania April 24, 2015. An Italian coast guard vessel carrying 84 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya arrived at the Sicilian port of Catania on Friday morning. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's executive proposed on Wednesday taking in 20,000 migrants over two years and distributing them across Europe, a plan Britain, one of its largest members, has already opted out of.

Shocked by thousands of deaths among people trying to reach Europe from North Africa across the Mediterranean, the European Union is trying to put in place a fairer way to resettle asylum-seekers at a time when anti-immigration parties are on the rise.