German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the solution for the migrant crisis in Europe is still some way off and the way it is handled will have a serious impact on the continent for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to German MPs regarding the latest measures agreed by the EU on Wednesday, she said that the measures were simply the ‘first step’ and that ‘selective relocation’ of migrants wasn’t enough to solve the problem.
Flow of migrants
The flow of migrants shows no sign of easing with Hungary announcing a record 10,046 people arriving on Wednesday. Rows continue between individual countries with the latest being between Croatia and Serbia while the European Commission has warned that if the problem isn’t dealt with properly, it could see a surge in ring-wing extremism across the continent.
Around half a million migrants have already arrived in Europe this year and their arrival has highlighted the deep divisions without the EU.
Mrs Merkel told her parliament that she was deeply convinced that what Europe needs is not just selective relocation but a permanent process to fairly distribute refugees across the member states. She added that a first step had been taken but ‘we are still far from where we should be’.
Agreement
So far, the EU has agreed that at least an additional $1.1 billion will be donated to the UN refugee agency as well as to the World Food program. They also want to offer extra help to countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey along with better cooperation and dialogue with the latter. They are also aiming to provide assistance for the Balkan states who have found themselves as major routes for migrants trying to travel north and a strengthening of border controls including more funding for border security forces. There are more talks scheduled for October which will include the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On Tuesday, minister back mandatory quotas to split up some 120,000 refugees among the member states but the vote was only passed by a majority with some nations fiercely opposing it and Slovakia even mounting a legal challenge.
Mrs Merkel said she welcomed the measures to improve border control as well as to establish the proper registration of migrants at entry points such as Greece and Italy. She added that participants in the summit had ‘recognised the scale of the problem’ and believed they had sent a signal of unity.
Long term
But she also warned that the way the EU dealt with the crisis would shape it for the long term and criticised some states for failing to meet the minimum standards for the accommodation and care of refugees. She also vowed to speed up the asylum process in Germany.
Later on Wednesday she met with the leaders of the 16 states of Germany to discuss funding for dealing with the migrants as well as speeding up asylum claims.
Hungary’s introduction of their own tough new border controls last week saw the diversion of thousands of migrants into Croatia. This led to tensions between the country and its neighbour Serbia, who banned the movement of Croatian cargo traffic. Croatia returned the favour and added the banning of some individual Serbian citizen though this was later said to be a ‘problem with passports’
