- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

No Refugees - No Money, Says Germany as EU Values Become Void

© AFP 2023 / Armend NimaniSeven-day-old Ali Taher, who was born on the Greek island of Lesbos, sleeps while his mother and other migrants take a break as they head towards the Serbia-Croatia border near the town of Bezdan on September 17, 2015.
Seven-day-old Ali Taher, who was born on the Greek island of Lesbos, sleeps while his mother and other migrants take a break as they head towards the Serbia-Croatia border near the town of Bezdan on September 17, 2015. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
"The world is watching us. Now is the time for each and every one to take responsibility," according to the European Commission. Meanwhile, Eastern European countries, falling foul of their commitments to the EU, could face being short changed by the union.

Pressure is mounting on Eastern European countries to open their borders and accept the proposed quota for re-settling refugees.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said: 

"We need to talk about ways of exerting pressure. These are often countries that receive a lot of structural funds from the European Union. We should talk about [them] getting less money from the structural funds."

Also weighing into the 'no refugees, no money' debate is Germany’s economy minister Sigmar Gabriel who told newspaper Bild:

"Europe is a community of values based on human sympathy and solidarity. And those that don't share our values can’t count on our money over time."

But with images arising from Eastern European countries of refugees being penned in and fed like animals, hit with batons and blasted by water cannons and tear gas, while razor wire fences are erected across country borders — values of "human empathy and solidarity" appear non-existent among countries in the European Union.

Hungary is racing to complete another razor wire fence on its border with Croatia – it has already reinforced its borders with Serbia with a four meter high wall and more police.

Officers wearing riot gear used tear gas and water canon on people trying to break through, receiving shock and condemnation from the UN’s Refugee Agency.

Refugee Quotas Rejected

More than 13,000 refugees are expected to cross into Slovenia by any means possible from Croatia where more than 5,500 have arrived in the last 24 hours. Local media are reporting that refugees are using buses and taxis and wading through water to cross the border into Slovenia after those traveling on trains were turned back by the authorities.

Czech Republic has agreed to accept refugees but maintains its stance on refusing the EU’s proposed quota system. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka told Hosodarske Noviny:

"Hundreds of thousands of refugees are on the move. One of the reasons why we reject the quotas is that we don’t want it to end by approving a classic bureaucratic solution and then say 'it is alright now'."

Meanwhile Czech police and military officials are carrying out drills on its border with Austria in preparation for a possible influx of refugees and migrants who have been forced to take a longer route through Croatia and Slovenia to reach Western Europe and the Schengen Area. 

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала