Merkel slams eastern Europeans on migration
- 9 years ago
German Chancellor Angela Merkel harshly criticized eastern European governments for not having learned from their own history in their responses to the migration crisis.
"The eastern Europeans - and I'm counting myself as an eastern European - we have experienced that isolation doesn't help," she told members of the center-right European People's Party Wednesday in a closed-door meeting, according to a recording of the session obtained by POLITICO.
"It makes me a bit sad that precisely those who can consider themselves lucky that they have lived to see the end of the Cold War, now think that one can completely stay out of certain developments of globalization," Merkel said, referring to the reluctance of some EU countries to accept refugees.
The comments come after a turbulent month for Merkel and for the EU over the migration issue, with leaders criticizing her seemingly back-and-forth approach to allowing refugees to enter Germany.
"The eastern Europeans - and I'm counting myself as an eastern European - we have experienced that isolation doesn't help," she told members of the center-right European People's Party Wednesday in a closed-door meeting, according to a recording of the session obtained by POLITICO.
"It makes me a bit sad that precisely those who can consider themselves lucky that they have lived to see the end of the Cold War, now think that one can completely stay out of certain developments of globalization," Merkel said, referring to the reluctance of some EU countries to accept refugees.
The comments come after a turbulent month for Merkel and for the EU over the migration issue, with leaders criticizing her seemingly back-and-forth approach to allowing refugees to enter Germany.