"We love Germany," several young migrants yelled happily as they stumbled out of a train in Munich -- the last stop, they hope, of their long and perilous journey from war.
The EU is preparing to step up action against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, actively seizing the boats which carry thousands of hapless migrants to Europe.
A market in fake Syrian passports has sprung up, particularly in Turkey, to help migrants and refugees enter the EU, the head of Europe's border agency Frontex said.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini expressed concern over "very worrying" deadly clashes in Kiev as Ukrainian lawmakers backed an autonomy plan for rebel regions.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said those behind deadly Kiev clashes that erupted after a vote on autonomy for separatist eastern regions deserved severe punishment.
London's Notting Hill Carnival kicked off with a riot of colour despite grey skies, in a celebration of Caribbean culture reputed as Europe's biggest street party.
Greece's ex-prime minister Alexis Tsipras called for voters in upcoming snap elections to give his radical left Syriza party a "strong mandate" to lead the crisis-hit nation.
Greece geared up for a snap election next month, with an opinion poll showing the leftist party Syriza ahead despite a wave of defections over the country's massive new bailout.
France's divisive economy minister has once again made waves among Socialists by criticising the country's sacrosanct 35-hour week just as the ruling party gathers for its annual conference.
The bodies of more than 70 dead migrants have been recovered from an abandoned truck found on an Austrian motorway, more than the initial estimate of between 20 and 50.