MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Merkel government has been repeatedly criticized for its migration policy, as Europe is struggling to manage an unprecedented refugee crisis with hundreds of thousands fleeing war and violence in the Middle East and North Africa.
"First of all, I state that this was an astounding historical mistake, I underline, historical mistake, because we will pay a great price for the mistake of Merkel, who said that everyone was welcome in Europe,” Thierry Mariani said in a video link organized by the Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency.
He added that mandatory quotas should be introduced for refugees eligible to come to the bloc.
More than 1.8 million migrants entered the European Union in 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex.
