EU should repatriate more economic migrants, France, Germany, Italy say

Riot police stand guard in front of a migrant reception centre in Roszke, Hungary, September 4, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Italy, France and Germany pushed on Friday for a European system to repatriate more migrants who fail to qualify for asylum and to improve external border controls, as EU foreign ministers sought a broader response to the bloc's migrant crisis.

In a letter to the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the three governments called for new rules to end a patchwork of national policies that have sowed division among member states.