Germany OSCE Chairmanship to Prioritize Migration Issues - Steinmeier

Germany will take up European migration issues as a top priority as it assumes the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told members of Congress on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "The pressing issue of migration should figure more prominently and comprehensively on the OSCE’s agenda," Steinmeier said in testimony to the congressional Helsinki Commission.

Steinmeier added that the OSCE has a lot of expertise to contribute on human rights standards, labor migration, and combating human trafficking.

Over the past year, Europe has been overwhelmed by migrant flows from Syria as well as the broader Middle East and North Africa. According to European Union estimates, well over one million refugees from Syria landed in Europe in 2015.

Germany assumed the one-year chairmanship of the OSCE in January.