The Sunday News
Angela Merkel threw down the gauntlet to David Cameron last night and said large countries should be prepared to accept more asylum seekers. The German Chancellor demanded a new European Union system that distributes asylum-seekers to member states based on their population and economic strength. The call comes as Europe struggles with the growing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, where hundreds have died in recent days trying to get from northern Africa to Italy. David Cameron insisted at an emergency EU summit on Thursday that the UK would not take any of the refugees — because it was already doing its part by virtue of having the continent’s largest aid and defence budgets.
Mrs Merkel’s call would however mean that Britain, one of the most populous countries in the UK and one of its most economically successful, would be expected to take in more people.
Speaking at a campaign event ahead of state elections in Bremen, she said yesterday that the EU’s own rules on asylum-seekers are not working. She called for the current rules, known as the Dublin regulations, to be scrapped.
Under the Dublin regulations, refugees have to claim asylum in the first EU country they enter, and cannot pick and choose between member states.
But Germany has long accused southern EU countries of ignoring the rules and encouraging asylum-seekers to move on.
The majority of refugees arrive on Europe’s southern shores after crossing the Mediterranean. The border free Schengen Area means they can easily move onto to other EU countries, despite the rules.
The German government is believed to be particularly concerned that the Italian authorities are not doing enough to register asylum-seekers who arrive there. — Reuters
