BERLIN (Sputnik) — Not only Europe, but the whole world suffers from the escalating migrant crisis, Merkel said, adding that the European Union should develop its "competitiveness" to strengthen its financial background.
"We will provide protection to those who need it, to the rest we have to say: you have to leave Germany until you need protection," the chancellor said in opening remarks at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Germany is among EU countries dealing with an escalating refugee crisis, as hundreds of thousands of people flee war-torn regions in the Middle East and North Africa, seeking refuge in the European Union.
Merkel noted that refugees arriving in Germany needed proper social integration, and urged prospective employers to have an open approach to migrants who "deserve a chance."
Under a new European Commission quota plan, Germany must accept over 31,000 asylum seekers to relieve the refugee burden on Greece, Italy and Hungary. Earlier in September, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said that as many as a million refugees could come to the country by the end of 2015.
