Ms. Merkel called for the EU meeting next week together with Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria-which tens of thousands of migrants have traversed in recent weeks to reach northern European countries such as Germany and Sweden.
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“We should not put our head in the sand”, Faymann said.
“During my consultations some leaders requested an extra EUCO (summit) on migration”.
Calls for a crisis meeting of European Union leaders were mounting after interior ministers failed to reach a deal Monday on binding quotas for the redistribution of refugees.
Germany, facing a surge in migrant numbers, took the drastic step of reinstating border controls on Sunday.
He recalled that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker “has suggested that we should look at whether these countries should get less structural funds, which I agree with”. “We didn’t have 12 hours to think about it and wait and see while the people were marching towards the border“.
“If we start having to apologize for showing a friendly face in emergencies, then that isn’t my country”, said Merkel.
“We have not shut the borders”. I do not want to do this.
However Munich – the capital of Bavaria has expressed concern that around 6 million visitors are expected to arrive between September 20 until October 5, for the annual beer-swilling Oktoberfest, in addition to thousands of refugees.
“It is the responsibility of the entire European Union“, Ms. Merkel said of the migration crisis.
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to London this weekend to discuss the refugee situation and the conflict in Syria with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. Hungary, which implemented new laws Tuesday to stem the flow of migrants into the country, has argued that Berlin is exacerbating the situation by saying it is willing to take them in. Since Hungary is the first EU-state these refugees land in, Hungary is also in charge of registering all of them.
“Threats are not the right way to unity”, she told reporters.
Hungary is constructing a fence on its Serbian border in an attempt to keep people out even though many do not want to remain there anyway. The army will assist police with an initial deployment of about 640 troops, the Defence Ministry said.
The people smugglers have begun stopping their cars and trucks at the border and telling migrants to walk into Germany.
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Austria will begin its controls at midnight Wednesday, which include checks at the Hungarian and German borders, as well as at train stations.
