Refugee Crisis Creates ‘Unbearable’ Situation in EU - Finnish PM

The situation caused by the huge influx of refugees to Europe, has created an absolutely "unbearable" atmosphere in the European Union, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Finland ranks third among EU countries most popular with asylum seekers, according to the country’s Immigration Service.

"At present, the situation is unbearable, because the Schengen system is not working. The checks stipulated by the agreement are not carried out at the external borders," Sipila said in an interview with the Finnish Kaleva newspaper.

Asylum seekers arrive at a refugee reception centre in the northern town of Tornio, Finland September 25, 2015

© REUTERS / Panu Pohjola/Lehtikuva

According to him, there is a necessity for distribution centers at the external borders to start functioning in an appropriate way.

Earlier this week, the Finnish Interior Ministry unveiled new projected data on refugees, saying that about 30,000-35,000 asylum-seekers may arrive in the country by year-end.

A majority of asylum seekers coming to the Northern European nation at present are of Iraqi origin, the Finnish Immigration Service statistical data shows.

Refugees and migrants line up to board a ferry after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos on October 16, 2015

© AFP 2023 / DIMITAR DILKOFF