Merkel against ‘upper limit’ for refugees

BERLIN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has dismissed calls from her coalition partner to set an "upper limit" for refugees Germany will take, but promised that refugee influx will soon be mitigated by international efforts and cooperation with Turkey.

"We will save lives and reduce the number of refugees by fighting root causes of the immigration, by improving the situation in refugee camps in the region, sharing the burden within Europe and with our neighbors, by putting an end to people smuggling, by protecting EU’s external borders and enabling legal ways of migration between Turkey and the EU through agreements," Merkel said Friday, at the party congress of its junior coalition partner, Christian Social Union (CSU) in Munich.

"With this approach we will manage to reduce the number of refugees, instead of setting a one-sided, national upper limit. This will be in the interest of all; it will be in the interest of Europe, it will be in the interest of volunteers in our country, and it will be in the interest of refugees," she stressed.

Merkel made the remarks amid a growing row over refugee policy with its coalition partner populist-conservative CSU, which governs the southern state of Bavaria, the entry point of most of the refugees.

Germany has received a record 900 thousand refugees this year, mostly from Syria and Iraq, and the refugee influx mostly overstretched communities and municipalities in Bavaria.

On Friday, CSU delegates approved a resolution, demanding an "upper limit" for refugees that Germany will accept in 2016. They called for accelerating the quick deportation of economic migrants, who mostly come from Balkan countries, and do not need international protection.

The refugee debate in Germany was propelled to the top of the agenda by the recent deadly attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded scores.

CSU has claimed that the refugee influx has brought Germany to its limits, and called on other EU member states to share the burden and accept fair distribution of the refugees among member states.

While acknowledging importance of cooperation with Turkey to find a solution to the refugee crisis, CSU delegates renewed their opposition to Turkey’s EU membership, and suggested a privileged partnership instead.

BERLIN

Germany has received a record 900 thousand refugees this year, mostly from Syria and Iraq, and the refugee influx mostly overstretched communities and municipalities in Bavaria.

The refugee debate in Germany was propelled to the top of the agenda by the recent deadly attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded scores.

CSU has claimed that the refugee influx has brought Germany to its limits, and called on other EU member states to share the burden and accept fair distribution of the refugees among member states.