EU lawmakers demand obligatory hosting of migrants under looming overhaul

FILE PHOTO: Evidence, from Nigeria, looks at the sea on his sixth day waiting for a safe port to disembark on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers voted on Thursday to require member countries to host some of the refugees and migrants coming to the bloc at times of high arrivals, part of a fiercely contested reform due ahead of a 2024 pan-European election.

The European Parliament adopted its position on the looming reform of the bloc's migration and asylum rules ahead of negotiating its final form with the 27 EU member states that have long been split over the so-called obligatory relocations.