German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with her Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz in Berlin on Tuesday.
The issue of migration and refugees was a central point, as they revealed during a press conference after their meeting. Merkel said she insisted on a common, European solution to the refugee influx into the European Union.
Meanwhile, Kurz stressed the importance of protecting external borders. “Only when we have brought an organised external border protection up to standard can Europe exist without internal borders in the future,” he said.
Merkel acknowledged that the differing policies on migration, between different European countries, could be a point of concern for the unity of the European Union. She said, “I believe that this issue has the potential to really severely damage Europe, and the free movement of people within the Schenghen zone, and we’re also in agreement that the protection of the external borders is also a central point to combat illegal migration.”