Amnesty official urges Europe to reach consensus on tackling migrant crisis

Europe should reach a consensus to put a stop to a "global crisis" which has seen almost 60 million people displaced, Portugal's Amnesty International Director Executive Teresa Pina said on Wednesday.

"Our priority is to talk of the crisis as a global strategy," Teresa Pina told journalists in Lisbon's Foz Palace.

European states must help to take in the flow of refuges and also find a solution to tackle problems in the regions where conflicts are taking place, like Syria, Libya and Iraq, she said.

There should also be policies for integration so that refugees are ensured medical insurance and education and feel as a part of the society where they are received.

Pina also said it was important to raise awareness at a time when racist speech is prevalent and said she regretted that some countries, such as Hungary, were not willing to take in refugees.

The European Commission has drawn up an emergency plan to relocate 160,000 refugees around the continent, with migrants allocated according to a state's economic wealth and population, which however was met with mixed response from European Union member states.

The Portuguese government has said it is ready to welcome refugees but cannot take in as much as countries like Germany, which has taken in 50,000 in the past week, due to still recovering from an economic crisis.

"The (Portuguese) government is talking of receiving 2,500 people and we hope that is materialized," Pina said. Endit