Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, warned yesterday (Sunday) that the EU-countries’ capacity to accommodate asylum seekers was “close to breaking point.” He appealed to the other G20 powers to assume their share of the responsibility.
“Europe’s capacity to welcome new waves of refugees, including illegal immigrants, is close to breaking point.” Mr Tusk confirmed this during a joint press conference with the President of European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, outside the G20 Summit in Hangzhou (China).
He explained, “We should be realist and pragmatic,” He pressed, “The problem not only involves refugees coming from war-torn countries, such as Syria. (...) We are talking about there being 60 to 70 million displaced persons in the world, a phenomenon which is also occurring here in Asia.”
“Only a global-scale effort will be able to generate results,” Mr Tusk added, calling upon all other G20 members to take their share of the responsibility.
The EU is divided over the question of accommodating refugees, a year after Germany decided to open its doors to migrants.
Numerous European states, in particular in Eastern Europe, consider that the Chancellor Angela Merkel has engendered a migration influx by making this decision.
The Brussels Times
