France and Germany join UK in refusing EU refugee quotas
FRANCE and Germany last night backed Britain by resisting EU plans to distribute tens of thousands of migrants across the continent.
Brussels wants them to accept the bulk of the 40,000 asylum seekers to ease the pressure on Greece and Italy after a surge in the number of refugees crossing the Mediterranean.
But last night leaders in Paris and Berlin issued a joint statement saying the plans needed to take into account the number they have already taken.
Calling for the responsibility of housing migrants to be shared out more equally, the statement said: ‘This situation is not fair and no longer sustainable.
‘This distribution (mechanism) must above all take better account of the efforts already made by member states on international protection.’
Hundreds have died and tens of thousands more migrants have been rescued trying to make the perilous crossing from Libya in flimsy boats.
The influx has caused chaos in Greece and Italy where officials are struggling to cope and this weekend alone some 5,000 migrants were rescued from boats trying to reach Europe. Last week the European Commission drew up plans to ease pressure by redistributing some 40,000 asylum seekers to other countries – mainly groups from Syria and Eritrea landing in Italy and Greece.
The plans would have seen France and Germany, two of the EU’s biggest states, take nearly 40 per cent of the total. Britain has said it will not take part in the scheme or a separate EU plan to resettle a further 20,000 Syrian refugees from outside Europe.
Spain and Eastern European countries have also raised concerns and the latest question marks by major member states threaten to undermine the scheme.
In their statement France and Germany said nearly three- quarters of asylum applications in the EU are made in five member states – Germany, France, Sweden, Italy and Hungary. French minister Ber- nard Cazeneuve and his German counterpart Thomas de Maiziere said the plan ‘must be founded on two equally important principles: responsibility and solidarity.
‘ We believe that the balance between these two principles has not yet been reached in the proposal presented by the Commission.’ The statement came ahead of talks between European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande in Berlin.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We will oppose any proposals to introduce a non-voluntary quota for asylum, and will not participate in any legislation imposing a mandatory system of relocation.’
Some 25 UK- bound illegal migrants were seriously injured when a mass brawl erupted between rival gangs in Calais yesterday.
Riot police were called to deal with groups of Eritreans and Sudanese, who used knives, metal bars and wooden truncheons in a fight over the routes they use to get on to England-bound ferries.
‘Situation is not fair’