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German official calls for European response to refugee crisis at MSC

Xinhua, February 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

European countries need to find a systematic and European response to the refugee crisis, German Defense Minister Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen said here on Friday.

Speaking to top diplomats from around the world at the 52nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) here, Leyen called for joint efforts to make Europe a crisis proof continent.

People are still drowning in the Mediterranean sea and the Schengen Agreement is in danger of falling apart, Leyen maintained.

Help should be extended to the refugees who have reached Europe because it is a humanitarian duty and international law, Leyen said and added that the influx of refugees must be reduced due to the limit of resources.

Leyen called on European countries to find an internal European distribution mechanism, a common asylum policy and consistent control measures.

The countries along the external borders of the EU will be put into a dilemma unless these measures are put into place, she argued.

Leyen spoke highly of the so-called transit countries that have taken millions of refugees in the last couple of years. "Europe understands better what this means."

Leyen said refugees will return to Syria, which will have a cease-fire in the future. It is necessary to train the refugees because they will be needed to rebuild their country, which will take a long time, she asserted. Endit