Germany says it can take half a million migrants

September 09, 2015 01:07

Germany said it could take half a million refugees annually to help Europe's migrant crisis as Greece's Aegean islands struggled today to cope with another wave of desperate humanity.

Reflecting deepening concern, the European Union's president warned the EU faced a years-long refugee crisis, while the UN called on all countries of the world to join in tackling the problem.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy, Sigmar Gabriel, said Germany "could surely deal with something in the order of half a million (refugees) for several years."

And Merkel herself urged greater flexibility in EU migrant quotas and stressed that the crisis should lead to changes in Europe's policy.

Germany has previously said it expects to receive 800,000 asylum-seekers this year, four times the 2014 total.

Berlin would keep accepting "a greatly disproportionate share" among EU members "because we are an economically strong country," Gabriel said late Monday.

But it was unacceptable for the EU to keep relying on just a few countries, such as Austria, Sweden and Germany, he added, saying "that's why I am certain that European policy needs to change".

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