Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo warned on Monday that the migrant crisis could “tarnish” Europe’s image and pledged his country would take in refugees despite its economic woes.
“From an ethical and practical point of view, so as not to tarnish the image of Europe and therefore favour extremism, we must make the maximum effort” to help refugees, Garcia-Margallo said in Iran.
He said Spain would do its part “to welcome a maximum number of refugees, offer them a roof over their heads and social services” despite its financial difficulties. Garcia-Margallo did not say how many refugees Spain was willing to receive. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has called on the EU to take in at least 200,000 asylum seekers.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker was expected to unveil a plan on Wednesday to
relocate 120,000 refugees in EU countries under a mandatory quota system.
Under Juncker’s proposal, Germany and France will take half of the refugees to relieve the burden on Greece, Italy and Hungary, while Spain will take almost 15,000, a European source said.