In tense talks, EU leaders agree plan to confront migrant crisis

A migrant waits to disembark from the Norwegian vessel Siem Pilot Stavanger in the Sicilian harbor of Palermo, Italy June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Fractious European leaders argued into the early hours on Friday over how to handle over a migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, agreeing a plan to share out the care of desperate people fleeing war and poverty in North Africa and the Middle East.

Determined not to be dragged into negotiations over Greece's debt debacle at their summit in Brussels, leaders instead found themselves sparring for seven hours about whether to take in 40,000 Syrian and Eritrean asylum seekers now in Italy and Greece and another 20,000 people currently outside the EU.