EU leaders seek compromise over immigration as arrivals increase

FILE PHOTO: Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo speaks during a news conference after a face-to-face EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union leaders made a fresh effort on Friday to overcome their differences on how to handle immigrants, but disagreed on the best way forward, with the head of the bloc's executive saying there would be no EU funds for 'barbed wire and walls'.

While total immigration numbers are low compared to the bloc's population of some 450 million people, the issue feeds support for nationalist and populist groups across the EU, making it hard to reach a compromise among its 27 members.