EU ministers seal ‘historic’ migration deal

European Union ministers agreed on Thursday on how to share out the responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees, after 12 hours of negotiations got Italy and Greece to sign up to a deal that has eluded the bloc for nearly a decade.

Home affairs ministers from the 27-member bloc sealed the deal, hoping to end years of division dating back to 2015 when more than a million people - mostly fleeing war in Syria - reached the EU across the Mediterranean.

Germany's Nancy Faeser hailed the agreement as "historic". The bloc's top migration official said it amounted to "a win-win" situation for member states.

"This is a great, great achievement, showing that it's possible to work together on migration," home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said.