MOSCOW (Sputnik) — German President Joachim Gauck said his country's capacity to receive more refugees fleeing conflicts was limited but emphasized Berlin's willingness to help amid intensified criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy.
"We want to help. Our heart is big. However, our capabilities are finite. Our capacity is limited, even if it is not yet identified where those limits lie," Gauck said in a speech on Sunday, as quoted by the German newspaper Die Welt.
Earlier in September, EU ministers in Brussels approved a plan to redistribute some 120,000 refugees throughout the bloc according to a mandatory quota system proposed by the European Commission.
According to German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, up to one million asylum claims are expected to be lodged in the country by the end of 2015.
