Europe guilty over Mediterranean migrant deaths: France's Kouchner

PARIS (Reuters) - Europe is collectively guilty of letting hundreds of migrants die in the Mediterranean, the founder of the "Medecins Sans Frontieres" medics charity and former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted as saying on Monday. "In this affair, Europe is guilty of failing to assist a person in danger. That is to our shame," Kouchner told Le Parisien newspaper in an interview, using the legal description for an offense punishable under French law. "Before anything else, let's throw a lifeline to all these people who are drowning by creating a European rescue fleet for the 28 members of the European Union. One rescue boat for each country," Kouchner said. As many as 700 migrants were feared dead after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, raising pressure on Europe to face down anti-immigrant bias and find money for support as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East worsens the crisis. Fabrice Leggeri, the executive director of EU border control agency Frontex told RTL radio that since the launch of its Triton border protection program on November 1, his agency had helped rescue a third of all lives saved in the Mediterranean. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Mark John)