EU's Juncker warns member states to accept refugees

(Vatican Radio)  The president of the European Union's executive body, the European Commission, has condemned the refusal by several several member states to accept refugees. Jean Claude Juncker also warned that the EU's reputation is being tarnished by its failure to manage Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

European Commission President Juncker told reporters that it is unacceptable that in his words "certain member states say they are not going to accept refugees in their countries" and added "That is not possible."

It was a clear reference to especially Eastern European countries such as Hungary which has been building fences along its borders with Croatia and Serbia, and where the government is sponsoring an anti-migration media campaign.

Neighboring Slovakia has also made clear it does not want to accept more Muslim migrants.  

Hungary and Slovakia have also launched legal challenges against an EU plan launched in September last year to share 160,000 potential refugees in Greece and Italy among EU partners.

Few processed

Fewer than 300 people have been processed from those people. 

However more than one million people have arrived in Europe in 2015 seeking sanctuary or jobs. The numbers have overwhelmed border authorities and reception centers, particularly in Greece and Italy.

Juncker said he was embarrassed explaining Europe's migrant problems to leaders of countries like Jordan or Lebanon, which are hosting more than two million refugees.

He said Europe was known as a wealthy, admirable continent but that in his words "now we do appear as being the weakest part, and the poorest part of the world."

Yet, he also criticized refugees who often search for wealthier Western nations. "It can not remain that refugees who come to Europe decide themselves where they want go or where they want to live," he said.

EU responsible

"That is absolutely not possible. Not refugees are responsible for dividing the refugees, but the member states states are responsible for that," Juncker added.

And he made clear that no refugee has the right to refuse a local decision on where he or she can stay. He said the European Commission would propose "a new Dublin system" by the spring on dividing asylum seekers among member states.

The EU is also trying stop people leaving Turkey for Greece, and a package of incentives has been rolled out to persuade the Turkish authorities to do more. Yet, Italy is currently blocking a multi-billion euro fund for Syrian refugees in Turkey, insisting the money be paid entirely from EU coffers rather than by member countries.

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Friday after chairing a meeting of EU counterparts in Brussels that Italy had not lifted objections to the way the 3 billion euro, some $3.3 billion, should be paid but he said "we hope that that is possible very, very soon."