EU Nations Mustn’t Refuse Muslim Refugees, Merkel Says
Local Editor
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is "unacceptable" for European Union member states to refuse to accept Muslim refugees.
Merkel called for quotas to divide refugees fairly between EU nations in a television interview.
"What I continue to think is wrong is that some say 'we generally don't want Muslims in our country, regardless of whether there's a humanitarian need or not,'" she told German channel ARD.
She added "everyone must do their part" in the refugee crisis and "a common solution must be found".
Asylum seekers can currently be returned to the first safe country they are proven to have landed in, under the Dublin Regulation, an agreement between EU countries.
However enforcing this rule would mean some EU countries, like Greece, would have to take large numbers of people because of their geographical location.
The Schengen Agreement allows free movement of people within the EU, but refugees are exempt from this.
Advocates of a shared European refugee policy have said a quota system would be fairer to both host countries and refugees than the current system, which allows many countries to shirk any role in helping refugees.
Some eastern EU members, such as Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, have refused to take in any refugees under an EU-wide quota system amid opposition from right-wing nationalists.
Germany took in around a million asylum seekers, mostly from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. This year it expects up to 300,000 more people to arrive, according to the Federal Office for Migrants and Refugees.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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