Merkel, Hollande stress fight against traffickers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday stressed the need to fight against traffickers and combat the causes of flight in order to address Europe's migration and refugee issue.

The two leaders made the remarks at a joint press conference after their talks in Berlin.

"We are convinced that it is necessary to fight against human traffickers and smugglers," said Merkel, noting that "a resolution of the UN Security Council is needed" for those actions.

The chancellor said she and Hollande also agreed on joint efforts to combat the causes of flight, adding that Germany and France would further push for a meeting on this issue with "countries of the African Union that are particularly affected."

For his part, Hollande noted that a relatively small number of European countries, to which France and Germany belong, have taken in a large part of refugees coming to Europe.

"We have the common will to take in refugees... and we will also work to come to a distribution of refugees in compliance with the asylum law," he said. Endit