President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has appealed to European Union member nations to adopt better working relationships in tackling the migrant crisis bedevilling the continent.
Juncker, a Luxembourgish politician, made this call at a State of the Union address in Strasbourg, France today.
Giving his address titled “Time for Honesty, Unity and Solidarity” he stated, “I call on Member States to adopt the Commission proposals on the emergency relocation of altogether 160,000 refugees at the Extraordinary Council of Interior Ministers on 14 September.
“We now need immediate action. We cannot leave Italy, Greece and Hungary to fare alone. Just as we would not leave any other EU Member State alone. For if it is Syria and Libya people are fleeing from today, it could just as easily be Ukraine tomorrow.
“Europe has made make the mistake in the past of distinguishing between Jews, Christians, Muslims. There is no religion, no belief, no philosophy when it comes to refugees.
“Do not underestimate the urgency. Do not underestimate our imperative to act. Winter is approaching – think of the families sleeping in parks and railway stations in Budapest, in tents in Traiskirchen, or on shores in Kos. What we will become of them on cold, winter nights?”
In recent weeks, Europe has been awash with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.