However, German officials have been keen to stress that only people genuinely fleeing war and persecution are entitled to asylum, and that economic migrants must leave the country.
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More than 218,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in October – a monthly record and almost the same number as in the whole of 2014, the United Nations said.
“Certainly in 2016, we have to expect this level of arrivals to continue, and that’s because the facts that are causing people to move aren’t going away”.
And no reduction in the numbers of those that perish.
At least 435 refugees have drowned in the Aegean as they tried to reach Greece from the beginning of this year through October 29, according to the worldwide Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental body. Four others were rescued and seven are missing.
On Sunday, eleven refugees, including six children, drowned off the Greek island of Samos after their boat capsized on its route from Turkey to Greece.
However, storms that occur over the Aegean sea in the winter months have already proven lethal, according to the Telegraph.
“In contrast, this could exacerbate the problem both for the refugees and for Greece”, he said, noting that before the fence was built, many migrants had died attempting to cross the land border with Turkey.
The incident, the latest in a string of refugee boat tragedies off the Greek shore, took place on Monday, the Greek coastguard said, adding that four refugees were also rescued. The migrants are from Syria and Iraq.
“The gap between the pledges and what is on the table must be reduced”, he said.
Meanwhile, the European Union agreed last week to provide shelter for 100,000 people before the year is over.
Germany’s interior minister has said many Afghans who arrive will have to go home.
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The worldwide Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which coordinates humanitarian groups around the world, promised to increase its aid to 12.7 million Swiss francs over the next seven months from 3 million offered in September.
