German municipalities no longer able to shelter migrants: Minister
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The German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on all parties to help solve the migration problem in the country, citing that many communities were no longer capable of accommodation.
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German Economy Robert Habeck speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in his office at the Economy ministry in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.(AP)
According to the German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Saturday, German communities are no longer capable of providing accommodation for migrants coming into Germany.
In an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschlan, the minister called on all parties to help solve the problem of migration, citing that "social workers can barely keep up," as there is a shortage of living spaces.
Touching on his meeting with mayors previously, he remarked that they may soon stop providing housing and that with the number of refugees arriving in the country now, they will most likely need to be housed in gyms.
Habeck also warned that in order for right-wing populism not to exploit the situation, "all democratic parties have a responsibility to help find a solution."
Habeck's Green Party believes that "even though it was morally difficult," proposes settling the migrant crisis at the European Union's external borders and speeding deportations to third countries via agreements.
The German Interior Ministry ordered last week a halt in voluntary migrant intake from Italy, whose Mediterranean island of Lampedusa became the focus of a migrant flood last week, due to "major challenges faced by Germany with regard to its reception and accommodation capacities."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently vowed to prevent her country from becoming what she called "a camp for refugees" in Europe because of the large influx of refugees arriving from Africa and Asia.
According to the German Office for Migration and Refugees, the number of applications for refugee status in Germany grew by 78.1% between January and July 2023 when compared to the same period the previous year.
Borrell says migration may be 'dissolving force' for EU: The Guardian
Migration might be "a dissolving force for the European Union" because of significant cultural differences between European nations and their long-term incapacity to adopt a single strategy, EU's Josep Borrell said yesterday.
Borrell disagreed that the war in Ukraine was a contributing factor to the issue, which he described as a decades-old problem fueled by conflicts and poverty in the countries of origin.
In an interview for The Guardian, Borrell remarked that European nations had been forced to wake up from a nap on defense expenditure while living beneath the American nuclear umbrella.
"Migration is a bigger divide for the European Union. And it could be a dissolving force for the European Union," he said, adding that cultural and political differences within the bloc have made it incapable of agreeing on a common migration policy.
The Pope on Saturday reiterated his call for European governments to take greater responsibility in caring for migrants making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean. He stated, "Those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they look for welcome."
As he made closing remarks on a gathering of bishops and young people from the Mediterranean region in the French port city of Marseille, Pope Francis emphasized that migration is "a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response".
