Migrants at the main railway station in Salzburg, Austria, cram into a train to Munich in Germany Photo: EPA
(VOVworld) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday refugees should be distributed across the European Union according to member states’ ability to receive them, as part of a strategy to cope with Europe’s unprecedented migration crisis. Merkel said at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that there should be a fair distribution in Europe based on the economic strength, productivity and the size of each country. Merkel and Rajoy both said the European Commission should do more to help resolve the crisis, including providing a list of safe countries of origin so that it is easier to determine whether migrants have valid claims of asylum.

In Germany, trains carrying a record 2,200 migrants arrived in the key southern border region with Austria in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning. Germany has become the top destination for migrants seeking refuge in Europe, and expects to receive 800,000 more this year, a record number and four times as many as in 2014.