EC President Juncker asks Europe to handle refugee crisis sensibly

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has asked European Union member nations to put aside their differences in opinion regarding the accommodation of refugees and try to come to a united response. His call came after some EU members voiced their disagreement and criticised the quota system, following Wednesday's proposal to welcome 160,000 refugees from war and poverty-stricken countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Juncker addressed this crisis as one of the most critical since the Second World War. He said that supporting the refugees is not only about humanity, but also about the unity of the bloc.

“There is not enough Europe in this union,” he said in a statement. “And there is not enough Union in this Union. We have to change this. And we have to change this now.”

Juncker’s emotion overflowed as he urged the bloc not to underestimate the urgency of the issue. He asked the public to think of the families sleeping in open grounds, parks and railway stations during winter in Budapest. Thousands of refugees were moving from Greece to Hungary as Juncker made the speech, and more still are ready to move towards Sweden, Austria, Germany and other European nations.

“Let us be clear and honest with our often-worried citizens ... As long as there is war in Syria and terror in Libya, the refugee crisis will not simply go away,” Juncker pointed out.

Juncker asked Europe not to repeat the mistake that it had already made of distinguishing between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

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