Merkel ally backs ITALY in migrant row as he warns country could WALK AWAY from EU
GERMANY’S Bundestag president Wolfgang Schauble backed Italy in its feud over the migrant crisis just hours before EU leaders face off in an emergency summit.
By ALICE SCARSI
Express.co.uk
Sun, Jun 24, 2018
Mr Schauble said no single country could bear the brunt of the migrant crisis, as he called on the European Union to reform policies to help out Italy.
His comments could also be seen as a rebuttal on French President Emmanuel Macron who yesterday claimed there was “no migrant crisis”, after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Paris to discuss how to manage the arrival of migrants.
Mr Schauble said: “I believe immigration is one of the greatest challenges for our Western model of democracy.
“We need to find better answers to face it.
“Immigration is an essential challenge for Europe and only by standing together we can tackle it.
“No country can make it on its own.”
The Bundestag president, known in his days as a financial minister as a fiscal hawk and nightmare of southern European countries for his austerity measures, also urged European nation to help Rome to face the migrant crisis.
He said: “We can’t imagine, not for the past, presence or future, a Europe without Italy, so we need to solve this problem together.”
Mr Schauble stated Italy needs “solidarity” and that immigration is a problem that must be shared among all EU state members.
Explaining that countries such as Malta and Italy can’t bear the burden of immigration by themselves just because they overlook the Mediterranean, he said: “Europe’s founding principle is open borders, but it can only be applied if there is a common responsibility over external borders.
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