Struggling Germany urges neighbours to do more to help with refugee crisis

Germany told its European partners they must take in more refugees on Monday as it struggles to cope with record numbers of asylum seekers and as police in Hungary used pepper spray on migrants who broke out of a reception center at the border. Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after a weekend in which 20,000 migrants entered Germany from Hungary by train, bus and on foot, described the influx as “breathtaking” and tried to reassure the country the crisis was manageable.

What isn’t acceptable in my view is that some people are saying this has nothing to do with them. This won’t work in the long run. There will be consequences although we don’t want that.

Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Dramatic images from last week, especially a photograph of a Syrian toddler drowned on a Turkish beach, have created new political pressure to open doors, even in countries that argued previously that taking in too many migrants could make the problem worse by encouraging others to make dangerous voyages. At Roszke, on Hungary’s border with Serbia, around 300 migrants broke through a cordon around a reception camp and set off down the wrong side of the motorway towards the capital Budapest, Reuters witnesses said. Police were unable to prevent their escape despite using pepper spray as migrants scuffled with officers. Only months after Europe narrowly averted a Greek exit from the euro zone, the refugee have emerged as the bloc’s biggest challenge.

This would be a dramatic political blow for Europe, but also a heavy economic blow, also for those countries that are saying they don’t want to help now.

Vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel on countries who were resisting accepting their share of refugees.

Syria Politics