Politics
17:33, 28-Jun-2018
Migrant crisis a 'make-or-break' issue for EU, says Merkel
Updated
17:23, 01-Jul-2018
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the challenge of migration could become a make-or-break one for the EU.
She made the remarks just hours ahead of an EU summit in Brussels where leaders are expected to clash over the way forward.
"Europe has many challenges but migration could end up determining Europe's destiny," Merkel told German lawmakers.
She added that the path that the EU chooses could decide if the bloc is viewed by others as a credible defender of the values it espouses.
A migrant of a group intercepted aboard a dinghy off the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, rests after arriving on a rescue boat at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, June 27, 2018. /VCG Photo
A migrant of a group intercepted aboard a dinghy off the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, rests after arriving on a rescue boat at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, June 27, 2018. /VCG Photo
She called for refugee harboring agreements with African countries mirroring those that the EU sealed with Turkey, and said that with falling migrant numbers, pre-2015 tighter immigration controls must be re-established.
"Either we manage it, so others in Africa believe that we are guided by values and believe in multilateralism, not unilateralism, or nobody will believe any longer in the system of values that have made us strong," Merkel said. "That's why it's so important."
(Cover: German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives a speech at the Bundestag in Berlin, June 28, 2018. /VCG Photo)
(With input from Reuters)