“In regard to the announced numbers [of up to 60 million refugees around the world], we cannot say that this is a challenge for Germany or for Europe, this is a global challenge,” Merkel said during a parliament session.
She added that the number of refugees has never been larger since World War II.
“We’re talking about 60 million people throughout the world,” Merkel added.
Migration Crisis Can be Solved by Working with US, Russia, Middle East
Uprooting the reasons for the migration crisis is possible only with the participation of the United States, Russia and the countries of the Near and Middle East, Merkel said.
“Uprooting [the reasons for the migration crisis] is possible only in working with our American trans-Atlantic partners, as well as with Russia and the countries from the Near and Middle East.”
First Step Accomplished in Distributing Refugees, Problem Yet Unsolved
The European Union has made its first step in solving the issue of fairly distributing refugees but the problem is far from being resolved, Merkel added.
Merkel said that Germany supports the European Commission’s proposal of using quotas for taking in refugees for all of the EU member states.
“We need a fair distribution of refugees,” Merkel added.
Earlier on Thursday, EU leaders agreed to allocate at least $1.1 billion to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and other countries in the region through UN programs.
Russia is expected to join the migration debate at the 4th International Parliamentary Forum held in October with the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and parliamentary leaders from abroad.
