Plans to force EU states to share refugees

EUROPEAN Union Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday unveiled major plans to force the bloc to share 160 000 refugees and ease the pressure on border states from the worst migration crisis since World War 2.

With Greece and Hungary struggling to cope, Juncker urged Europe to look to its history and not be afraid of his bold proposals for compulsory quotas for refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and elsewhere.

Under the EU plan, Germany would take more than 31 000 migrants, France 24 000 and Spain almost 15 000.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel – whose country expects 800 000 asylum claims this year and has said it could take half a million annually over several years – urged Europe to go further, claiming binding quotas were the only way to ensure a fair and proportionate sharing of the burden.

In response to appeals for help from an increasingly strained Europe, Australia said it would take an additional 12 000 refugees from the Syria and Iraq conflicts and several South American countries also agreed to help.

“Now is not the time to take fright, it is time for bold, determined action for the European Union,” Juncker said in his first EU State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

But he also warned member states against making religious distinctions when deciding to admit refugees.

Mandatory quotas have faced stiff opposition, especially from eastern EU states such as Hungary, which is on the frontline of the migrant wave.

“We need a binding agreement on the distribution of refugees according to fair criteria between member states,” Merkel said.

As Merkel and Juncker were speaking, at least 400 migrants broke through police lines at the flashpoint Roszke town on Hungary’s southern border with Serbia, yelling “No camp!” as they scattered in all directions. – AFP