- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/STEINMEIER German FM calls for more actions to help migrants
- Date: 7th September 2015
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 7, 2015) (REUTERS) TELEVISION TOWER EXTERIOR OF VENUE VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER WALKING TO LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "If we talk about the topic of migration, we also have to talk about failure of the German government. This is not an agreed upon governmental view, but mine. And as far as I am concerned, one of our problems lies in the fact that we for too long have ignored the realities. We have listened for to long to those who have said that we are not an immigration society. Despite the fact that every 5th (in Germany) have their roots outside of Germany. And this refusal to accept the changed realities was enough to say that we don't really want a debate about a new immigration law. And I think that this was a mistake, a deficit, which we need to correct in the medium-term." STEINMEIER SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "And if we recall the images (we saw), the tragedies that have taken place at the Mediterranean Sea, the one or the other German TV viewer was probably under the impression that all of Africa is on its way towards Europe, and many of them in the direction of Germany. That impression might have been generated by the TV pictures, but if you look at the numbers than it is a different story. If you look at the ten countries where the most asylum seekers come from, Eritrea and Nigeria are with about 3,000 each not at the 1st or 2nd place but at 8 and 9." AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "As you have probably heard from the few words about migration - the topic does give us a headache. Right now, because despite the fact that we are happy about the great readiness to help among the German people and there have never been that many volunteers as we do have now, but there is always the worry how long this is going to last. And especially if the number are as they are now." STEINMEIER WALKING OFF STAGE AUDIENCE
- Embargoed: 22nd September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9X7LMF6XSHESBC8SKFZUQVJ8P
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday (September 7) that the German government could have done more in dealing with the migrant situation.
"If we talk about the topic of migration, we also have to talk about failure of the German government," he said at a conference of the African Business Forum in Berlin, making clear that that was his personal view and not an official government statement.
"And as far as I am concerned, one of our problems lies in the fact that we for too long have ignored the realities. We have listened for to long to those who have said that we are not an immigration society. Despite the fact that every 5th (in Germany) have their roots outside of Germany. And this refusal to accept the changed realities was enough to say that we don't really want a debate about a new immigration law. And I think that this was a mistake, a deficit, which we need to correct in the medium-term," he told delegates.
The German minister said that the images on TV from the Mediterranean Sea could have lead to the wrong conclusion, "that all of Africa is on its way towards Europe, and many of them in the direction of Germany."
But the numbers tell a different story, Steinmeier said: "If you look at the ten countries where the most asylum seekers come from, Eritrea and Nigeria are with about 3,000 each not at the 1st or 2nd place but at 8 and 9."
He also expressed worries about the problems connected with the influx of migrants. At the moment Germany shines with volunteers welcoming migrants with cheers and applause.
"But there is always the worry how long this is going to last. And especially if the number are as they are now," he said.
Struggling to cope with record numbers of asylum seekers, Germany told its European partners they must also take in more refugees, as Hungarian police used pepper spray on desperate migrants who broke out of a reception centre at border.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after a weekend in which 20,000 migrants entered Germany from Hungary by train, bus and on foot, described the influx as "breathtaking" and tried to reassure German citizens that the crisis was manageable. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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