EU proposes quotas to distribute migrants across Europe

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed quotas to redistribute migrants arriving on the continent's southern shores and to directly resettle 20,000 people in need of protection, as part of a strategy to tackle immigration.

The European Union is a sought-after destination for people fleeing conflict and persecution or looking for a better life.

Many migrants undertake perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea, which not all survive.

The issue took on new urgency last month after a shipwreck in which more than 800 migrants are thought to have drowned, making it the worst such incident to date.