14 December 2015•Update: 18 December 2015
BERLIN
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised her conservative party supporters that her government’s recent diplomatic initiatives will bring a noticeable decline in the refugee influx.
“We would like to and we will noticeably decrease the number of refugees; this is also in the interest of all,” Merkel said Monday at the party conference of her ruling Christian Democratic Union.
She said that the EU’s deal with Turkey to improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in the country; strengthening of security measures at EU’s external borders; and efforts to fight the root causes of the problem will help address the refugee crisis.
"We will manage this," Merkel told around a thousand delegates at the party conference gathered in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.
Merkel’s remarks came amid growing criticism inside her Christian Democratic bloc over her open-door policy for asylum seekers.
While expressing understanding about the worries of her party fellows, Merkel also defended her decision in August to open Germany’s borders to refugees. “That was a situation which has put European values to a test, more than ever before. That was no more and no less than a humanitarian imperative," she said.
Merkel described the current refugee crisis as a historical test for Europe.
“We want Europe to pass this test,” she said. Her comments were applauded by party delegates.
Germany has received a record one million refugees this year, mostly from Syria and Iraq, and the refugee influx mostly overstretched communities and municipalities across the country.
