Germany's Angela Merkel Urges Creation Of New EU Refugee Policy; British Politician Lauds Australian Policy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the creation of a new system in the European Union that would allow the distribution of member states based on the economic capability and population. As Europe continues to struggle with the growing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, the German official said the current EU system is no longer effective.
Merkel called for the scrapping of the Dublin regulations at a campaign event ahead of the state elections in Bremen. Her comments echoed the statements she gave to her fellow EU leaders at the emergency summit on the Mediterranean crisis earlier in the week. Under the current system, five EU member states account for three-quarters of the asylum seekers, reports The Telegraph.
Refugees have to claim asylum in the first EU country they enter under the Dublin regulations. They are not allowed to choose between member states but Germany has long claimed that southern EU countries have ignored the rules and urged refugees to move on.
The majority of refugees land on Europe’s southern shores after crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The UN refugee said Germany received 173,070 asylum applications in 2014, which is more than twice as many as other EU countries. UK registered 31,260 refugee applicants in the same period.
Meanwhile, a prominent British politician had encouraged EU leaders to ignore those who protest tough border protection policies and adopt the turn-back-the-boats asylum seeker policy of Australia. Conservative British politician Daniel Hannan said Europeans should learn from Australia instead of writing social media posts about being compassionate to migrants trying to reach Europe by boat.
Australia’s policies on asylum seekers are continuing to attract the attention of European leaders as they deal with the escalating migrant crisis in the region. Up to 1,300 migrants have drowned a few weeks ago while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from northern Africa, reports SMH.
“The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, took the view that, if would-be migrants knew that they would not be able to land in Australia, the numbers attempting the crossing would fall, and the tragedies would become less frequent,” said Hannan. He believes Mr Abbott “was right.” Hannan suggested changing the rules to make it possible for Europe to return the boats safely from the country of origin.
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