The German government rejected yesterday any suggestion of a rift between Berlin and Paris over refugee policy.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls ruled out on the weekend the introduction of a permanent quota system for distributing refugees across Europe, which appeared to place Paris at odds with a key part of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migration policy.
But Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert insisted: “There is considerable agreement between France and Germany.” Paris is Berlin’s key ally.
Seibert went on to say that it was still too early to consider agreeing to additional quotas above the 160,000 that had already being decided for distribution in 2015.
The comments from Merkel’s spokesman come as she prepares to fly to Brussels for a key European leaders summit on migration, which is set for Thursday and Friday this week.
The chancellor needs to win EU backing for her refugee plans to help head off a damaging row in her conservative political block over asylum policy and to fulfil her pledge of “a drastic reduction” in new arrivals this year.
In addition to her proposals for EU member states sharing the burden of the refugees arriving in Europe, Merkel wants the member states to agree to measures to strengthen the Brussels-based bloc’s external borders and to combat illegal migration.
Speaking at a weekend conference in Munich, Valls said that France was not prepared to take more than the 30,000 refugees it had agreed to under last year’s 160,000 refugee distribution plan.
Seibert welcomed Valls’ remarks as a sign that France would stand by its commitments.
He said that any decision on additional quotas would be agreed to when signs had emerged that illegal migration had been significantly reduced.
“We want to implement things step by step,” said Seibert, adding the focus of efforts should be on securing the EU’s external borders.
Valls’ weekend comments on refugees were not the first time that the French prime minister has spoken out about Europe’s migration crisis.
Last month he warned about the threat posed to Europe by the large influx of refugees.
About two out of three Czechs oppose taking in refugees from war zones, according to an opinion poll published yesterday, reflecting growing anti-migrant sentiment in a country that has taken a tough stance on migrants and refugees.
Central European nations have opposed quotas for sharing asylum-seekers among European Union members, and Czech president Milos Zeman is one of many leaders to have used anti-migrant rhetoric.
The latest monthly survey by the Czech Public Opinion Research Centre found 65% of Czechs were against taking in war refugees, up from 50% in September.
Another 28% said refugees should only be accepted until they can return home.
Zeman has limited policymaking power but has said integration of Muslim communities in the country of 10.5mn is “practically impossible” and called the influx an “organised invasion”.
He has also said that migrants would impose Shariah law, stoning women to death for adultery and chopping thieves’ hands off. His comments have drawn criticism from the government as well as the UN human rights chief.
Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Sunday the countries - known collectively as the Visegrad group - were ready to help Balkan countries seal their borders with Greece to stem the flow, raising objections from Germany.
The leaders of Bulgaria and Macedonia will also attend the Prague meeting. Sobotka said he would discuss the plans with the Greek foreign minister today.
Except for Hungary, central European countries have so far not seen significant numbers of migrants, but they fear that could change if Europe’s external borders stay porous, or if Germany - the main destination - were to close its own borders.
Germany believes sealing Balkan borders with Greece could undermine its approach, which focuses on making an agreement with Turkey to control the migrant flow work and would lead to an accumulation of refugees in Greece, a country already under huge strain.
Central European states are meeting in Prague with controversial plans to assist Macedonia in patrolling its border with Greece, as some EU-members look outside the bloc for ways to clamp down on migration flows.
Macedonia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a key transit country for migrants travelling on from Greece towards richer states in the north.
The Visegrad Group has been critical of Greece over its inability to prevent thousands of migrants from arriving via the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
The invitation of Macedonian and Bulgarian representatives to the meeting was “a sign of solidarity” with the two countries, which “must not be left alone in the crisis”, Sobotka said.
The German ambassador to Prague, Arndt Freytag, however urged for “constructive solutions” in an interview with the daily Pravo and warned against the building of fences in Europe.
“The atmosphere in Europe is turning increasingly poisonous,” he said.