Sticking firmly to her stance on solidarity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said:
"The French-German position, which we will transit to the European institutions, is that we agree that…we need binding quotas within the European Union to share the burden."
"This is the principle of solidarity," Merkel told reporters, insisting "those who need protection…get it."
European leaders have been squabbling all summer over a quota system proposed by the European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker to reasonably share 120,000 asylum seekers. But with France and Germany joining Italy and throwing their weight behind Brussels, member states may be faced with no choice but to tighten up their asylum system.
Discussing quotas, i.e. determining how many of the survivors deserve our care. #refugees https://t.co/vohJ9aXwYZ
— Theodora Oikonomides (@IrateGreek) September 2, 2015
France has agreed to send proposals to Brussels "for organizing the welcome of refugees and their fair distribution in Europe", adding that "dramas are being followed by tragedies".
Dramatic pictures of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers stranded at Hungary’s international railway station in Budapest unable to leave for Germany and Austria emerged after the Hungarian authorities banished them from boarding trains.
But the most tragic picture to emerge from the refugee crisis is of a little boy from Syria, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish shore – a refugee with a name. A game-changer maybe?
EU leaders have so far been accused of putting borders before people, erecting razor wire fences and reinforcing border controls to prevent migrants and asylum seekers from moving.
Refugee camps from Calais to Serbia to Kos have been condemned for the conditions people are living in.
At a recent summit in Vienna, EU leaders were once again forced to face the situation on their doorstep when an abandoned truck was discovered in Austria with 71 dead men, women and children inside who had suffocated to death.
And now the moral pressure on ministers has been ramped up with Germany and France backing the binding agreement to share asylum seekers between member states.
But will other countries listen? The game-changing stance from two of Europe’s powerhouses is about to play with Britain.
Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to reform and renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Brussels to reduce political power the EU has over Britain’s policies. However, in recent days Cameron has been threatened by Austria and Germany that if he doesn’t renegotiate his own party’s stance on refugee quotas — his chances of reform would be slim.
Following the tragic images of Aylan Kurdi, a petition calling on the UK to accept more asylum seekers and increase support for refugees has received more than 207,000 signatures. Only 100,000 are needed for the campaign to be debated in parliament.
Thanks to those councils & councillors who have contacted us in last 24 hrs to say they will act to help refugees. Britain can&must do more
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) September 2, 2015
The "moral responsibilities" that David Cameron says he will keep in response to the refugee crisis are set to be tested over whether the UK will reject or accept the common EU asylum policy. Either way the PM decides to play it — the decision is likely to leave a legacy on Britain’s future within the EU.
