EU Migrant Crisis Should Be Solved According to 'Europrean Principles'

The European Union must show solidarity with refugees, and the bloc's solution to the migrant crisis must reflect the European principles, a Macedonian Interior Ministry spokesman told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Over 500,000 migrants have arrived in the European Union since the beginning of 2015, according to the European Commission. Those arriving to Europe are seeking asylum and fleeing violence in their home countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

On Monday, the interior ministers of the EU member states failed to agree on a plan to relocate 120,000 refugees throughout the bloc on an equitable basis.

"It is up to the European Union to find the final solution, and it must show the solidarity with the people and solidarity with the countries which are facing this problem, countries that are on the road of the refugees who try to reach European countries. It must show that the European Union is humane and this solution must reflect the European principles," Ivo Kotevski said.

In recent days, countries such as Germany, Austria and Hungary have been introducing border controls and sending extra forces to their frontiers to control the situation with migrants.

"According to the figures we have, the number of illegal immigrants entering the Republic of Macedonia is not decreasing. Unfortunately, according to the information that we have, probably it will be at the same level, if not go in the direction of increasing," Ivo Kotevski said.

In August, Macedonia declared a state of emergency over the crisis with refugees who pass through the country in a bid to reach more prosperous EU member states like Germany as their final destination.