1st LD Writethru: German minister criticizes EU refugee policy, urges common program

German Development Minister Gerd Mueller has clearly directed his criticism at the European refugee policy on Saturday on the occasion of the World Refugee Day.

"Lack of solidarity, no coordination and no orderly approach ... The current situation is shameful," commented Mueller in an interview with a German newspaper.

In his opinion, the European Union (EU) doesn't place an appropriate emphasis on the refugee policy.

"There is no reasonable explanation for the fact that the EU launches a 315-billion-euro (about 359 billion U.S. dollars) program for economy and at the same time is unable to put 10 billion euros into refugee assistance," Mueller told German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.

According to figures released on Thursday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, the number of asylum seekers in Europe has increased again in the first quarter of 2015. A total of 185,000 refugees sought shelter in the EU. Nearly half of them submitted their applications in Germany.

"The EU is facing challenges at different levels," Mueller said.

"By carrying out rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, we must ensure the survival of people in distress at sea. In war regions, we should help protect war victims and provide them primary care and survival assistance. In economically weak countries, for example in the Western Balkans, we must fight the causes of flight by focusing on education and training," he further explained.

In order to better deal with the refugee issue, the EU, noted the minister, must act in solidarity.

Mueller called on the block to readjust its budget to put 10 billion euros in a European program for refugees. He also said the EU needed a special representative for refugee issue, who is responsible for "coordinating policies of the 28 member states and defining focus points." (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) Endit