Comprehensive Solution on Refugees

20.04.2015 - 12:45

In the wake of the latest migrant boat tragedy in the Mediterranean, European countries are being urged to do more to save refugees fleeing conflict. The issue is being debated in Germany.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz on Wednesday urged EU member countries to find a political solution to prevent future loss of life in the Mediterranean. Up to 400 migrants are feared drowned after a boat traveling from to Europe capsized off the coast of Libya last Monday.

„We cannot react with indifference to the latest tragedy. We must act with urgently and find a comprehensive solution,“ Schulz said in Brussels.

Meanwhile in Germany, divisions emerged in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel over whether Europe’s most populous nation should accept more refugees. Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of Merkel’s conservatives, told German mass market daily „Bild“ that Germany could welcome „significantly more refugees.“

„We can and must be able to afford this act of humanity,“ he said, pointing out that Middle Eastern countries take in proportionally far more refugees than European countries, and that „five million people live with one million refugees“ in Kurdish areas. Read full Deutsche Welle article.

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