Swedish agency makes emergency appeal to tackle refugee crisis

Swedish authorities on Tuesday called for extraordinary measures to cope with incoming child refugees after admissions soared in recent weeks.

Nearly 1,300 unaccompanied minors had entered the country in the past two weeks, the Migration Agency said in a press release, nearly triple its forecasted average.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The countries the children are coming from are at war," head of the agency Anders Danielsson told news agency TT.

Danielsson pointed out that the Swedish admissions system for child refugees was originally designed to welcome 400 migrants per year, far fewer than the total of 12,000 expected in 2015.

Danielsson called for talks with Swedish municipalities as well as national and regional authorities in order to handle the crisis.

In some parts of the country, housing centers for refugees had opened so quickly recently that unions hit back at the labor conditions endured by staff.

"The acute situation must be solved by the Migration Agency and the municipalities," said Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, who vowed to include a "solid effort" to tackle the problem in the fall budget due to be presented next month.

He said the government will adjust housing regulations for refugees so that more homes become available to newly arrived migrants.

"This is not a problem that will go away. Wars are ongoing in the world," Johansson said.

"We need a greater fit, one that can manage these types of commitments for a long time," he added. Endit