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| Future of EU hinges on solving migration issue, says Merkel | Future of EU hinges on solving migration issue, says Merkel |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Angela Merkel has said the future of the European Union hinges on whether it can find answers to the “vital questions” posed by migration. | Angela Merkel has said the future of the European Union hinges on whether it can find answers to the “vital questions” posed by migration. |
| Addressing the Bundestag before heading to Brussels for a European summit that is likely to determine the future of her fraying coalition government, the German chancellor said European leaders should find a solution to asylum challenges “by allowing ourselves to be guided by values and rooting for multilateralism rather than unilateralism”. | Addressing the Bundestag before heading to Brussels for a European summit that is likely to determine the future of her fraying coalition government, the German chancellor said European leaders should find a solution to asylum challenges “by allowing ourselves to be guided by values and rooting for multilateralism rather than unilateralism”. |
| If the heads of government gathering in Brussels failed to do so, Merkel said, they risked creating a situation where “no one believes in the value system that has made us so strong”. | If the heads of government gathering in Brussels failed to do so, Merkel said, they risked creating a situation where “no one believes in the value system that has made us so strong”. |
| European leaders at the summit addressed the crisis that has caused political spasms across the bloc. | |
| The rightwing Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said that “being rescued in the Mediterranean must not automatically become a ticket to central Europe”. | |
| The Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, leader of Italy’s far-right populist coalition, called for a fundamental change in the EU’s migration policy, saying his country received little help even though it was at the forefront of taking in migrants from across the Mediterranean. “Italy doesn’t need any more verbal signs, but of concrete deeds,” he said. | |
| The far-right Hungarian leader, Viktor Orban, said migration to Europe was an “invasion” that “should be stopped”. He added: “The people request two things. [The] first is, no migrants more in, so stop them. The second is, those who are in, should [be sent] back.” | |
| Merkel arrives in Brussels under immense pressure from her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, who is threatening to unilaterally turn away at German borders any migrants who have already registered in another EU country, unless the chancellor can come up with a European solution to the problem by 1 July. | |
| In a 26-minute speech to the German parliament, notably in Seehofer’s absence, Merkel sounded a note of pessimism about the chances of striking an EU-wide deal on migration by Friday morning. | In a 26-minute speech to the German parliament, notably in Seehofer’s absence, Merkel sounded a note of pessimism about the chances of striking an EU-wide deal on migration by Friday morning. |
| “We are not yet where we want to be,” she said, adding that EU leaders remained at odds on two out of seven key questions relating to common standards for asylum procedures across the EU and a quota system for redistributing asylum seekers – a proposal that has proved a contentious issue across Europe for the last two years. | “We are not yet where we want to be,” she said, adding that EU leaders remained at odds on two out of seven key questions relating to common standards for asylum procedures across the EU and a quota system for redistributing asylum seekers – a proposal that has proved a contentious issue across Europe for the last two years. |
| Merkel defended her decision to keep open German borders to refugees at the height of the crisis in September 2015, saying: “I still believe it was right.” | Merkel defended her decision to keep open German borders to refugees at the height of the crisis in September 2015, saying: “I still believe it was right.” |
| But she also said it was time to return to practices before 2015 now that asylum requests had gone down, and to seek conversations with African states about deals to return migrants “who absolutely have no right to stay”, modelled on a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the EU. | But she also said it was time to return to practices before 2015 now that asylum requests had gone down, and to seek conversations with African states about deals to return migrants “who absolutely have no right to stay”, modelled on a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the EU. |
| Other European leaders such as Austria’s Kurz, have proposed deals to set up “secure zones” for refugees in north African states such as Libya. | |
| Throughout Merkel’s speech she was heckled by delegates of the rightwing populist party Alternative für Deutschland. At one point she interrupted her own speech with the words “My God, seriously now”. | Throughout Merkel’s speech she was heckled by delegates of the rightwing populist party Alternative für Deutschland. At one point she interrupted her own speech with the words “My God, seriously now”. |
| According to a survey by the German broadcaster ARD, 75% of Germans support the chancellor’s call for a European solution on migration. Only 36% of those questioned believed she would be able to secure such a deal in the near future. | According to a survey by the German broadcaster ARD, 75% of Germans support the chancellor’s call for a European solution on migration. Only 36% of those questioned believed she would be able to secure such a deal in the near future. |
| Additional reporting by the Associated Press | |
| Germany | Germany |
| Angela Merkel | Angela Merkel |
| European Union | European Union |
| Migration | Migration |
| Refugees | Refugees |
| Europe | Europe |
| news | news |
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