Barroso wants to spread Libyan asylum seekers in Italy around the EU

The BBC reports the following comment by Emperor Barroso on the Italian government's concerns that they are about to be flooded by refugees from their former colony, Libya:

I think if this problem develops that way, we have to be ready to do it in a European way, because these people are not just trying to come to Italy. We have to prepare a response that is compatible with our values.

As is always the case with Emperor Barroso, you have to look at what he's not saying to get the true meaning.  What he means when he says "we have to be ready to do it in a European way, because these people are not just trying to come to Italy" is that Libyans seeking refuge in Italy will be spread around the EU, not dealt with in the first friendly country they land in as international law requires.

This is yet another example of the EU acting like a country.  What is happening in Libya is appalling but we mustn't allow it to be used as an excuse for EU empire building.  International law requires asylum seekers to be taken in by the first friendly country they land in.  Libyans have the whole Mediterranean coast - European and African - to choose from, they don't need to end up here.