Brussels • French and German leaders reminded other European countries Monday of their shared responsibility toward refugees, as one official blamed harsh government policy for the deaths of dozens of migrants crammed into a truck.
An emergency meeting was called for Sept. 14 on the migrant crisis in which more than 300,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean this year — often those fleeing Syria, Eritrea, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hundreds have drowned in capsized boats, and 71 people were found locked in the back of a truck on the Budapest-Vienna highway.
"Europe as a whole must move and its states must share the responsibility for refugees seeking asylum," said Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, whose country is expected to see 800,000 asylum applications this year.
Millions fleeing the conflict in Syria are being housed in Turkey.
Lebanon and Jordan have also accepted hundreds of thousands.
In contrast, the 28 E.U. nations, representing a half-billion people and the world's most powerful trading bloc, have proved unable to share 40,000 Syrians and Eritreans arriving in Greece and Italy.
Sergio Carrera, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, believes some nations are simply shirking their responsibilities.
"No one wants to take charge," he said. "Countries like Greece and Italy, through which people enter first, are facing serious capacity issues" and can't process the numbers arriving.
Emphasis has been placed on cracking down on human traffickers, but they have become sophisticated and demand for them is high.
"It is almost impossible to take effective action against the smuggling networks," said Tuesday Reitano, expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. "All the evidence now shows that you have to look at demand-based solutions, actually reducing the number of people who want to come to Europe."
Migrants rest at a park in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Greece's coast guard picked up nearly 2,500 migrants from the sea in dozens of search and rescue operations over the weekend, part of a relentless flow of people seeking the safety of Europe after facing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Migrants board a train to Munich, Germany at the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Migrants possessing valid documents and a train ticket are allowed on international trains at the station. (Bea Kallos/MTI via AP)
A group of migrants walk along a dusty road towards a transit center for migrants, after crossing the border from Greece to Macedonia, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Thousands of migrants have poured into Macedonia to board trains and busses that are taking them a step closer to the European Union's Schengen Area. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Migrants rest at a park in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Greece's coast guard picked up nearly 2,500 migrants from the sea in dozens of search and rescue operations over the weekend, part of a relentless flow of people seeking the safety of Europe after facing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A boy flashes a victory sign as he arrives with other refugees in a train from Budapest at the main train station in the Austrian capital Vienna Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
Migrants wait to board the train that will take them towards Munich, Germany at the Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Migrants possessing valid documents and a train ticket are being allowed on international trains at the station. (Tamas Kovacs/MTI via AP)
A boy flashes a victory sign as he arrives with other refugees in a train from Budapest at the main train station in the Austrian capital Vienna Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
People board a train at the central rail station in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Some hundreds of migrants arrive by train from southern Europe, after making a perilous journeys into Europe.(AP Photo/Hans Punz)
People board a train at the central rail station in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Some hundreds of migrants arrive by train from southern Europe, after making a perilous journeys into Europe. (AP Photo/Hans Punz)
People board a train at the central rail station in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Some hundreds of migrants arrive by train from southern Europe, after making a perilous journeys into Europe. (AP Photo/Hans Punz)
A man squats on a platform at the central rail station in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. Some hundreds of migrants arrive by train from southern Europe, after making a perilous journeys into Europe. (AP Photo/Hans Punz)
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