German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that building border fences across Europe could spark war in the Balkans as she ups her rhetoric justifying opening Germany to an unstaunchable invasion of Middle East migrants.
Speaking at a conference in Darmstadt in the south of the country, Mrs. Merkel said that if Germany completely closed its border to Austria then military conflict would be the only outcome.
The embattled chancellor, who is increasingly being seen as isolated as the migrant crisis threatens her political future, said that the fence already built by Hungary on its border with Serbia “will build up fault lines“ between the states in the Balkan region, many of whom were involved in a bloody war in the 1990s.
“I don’t want to it to happen that military conflict is once again necessary there,” Mrs. Merkel said, adding that while she didn’t want to be a harbinger of doom, escalations into violence can happen without warning. Then she reiterated her country’s open door policy: “Germany will help all people who are looking for protection from wars and persecution.”
Germany restricted the number of entry points for migrants arriving from Austria to five border crossings on Saturday, in a bid to control the influx of thousands flowing daily into the country.
The German government reached an agreement with Austria on the new measures following tensions betweens Berlin and Vienna as they sparred over each other’s handling of the migrant crisis.
Authorities in the state of Bavaria, the main entry point for migrants entering the country, have complained that they are overwhelmed by the arrivals and that a lack of co-ordination with Austria is hindering efforts at cross-border controls.
Under the agreement, 50 migrants an hour could cross into Bavaria at the five agreed points, according to Thomas Kreuzer, chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary group, the state’s ruling party.
The Local reports Mrs. Merkel said that a rise in tension between Balkan states is what led her recently to call a conference to discuss the migrant routes through the region. The danger is that if Germany closes its border then these countries will do likewise, she continued.
Mrs. Merkel added that it was Germany’s responsibility, as the largest state in the European Union (EU), to find a resolution to the problem. “I am pretty sure we can achieve that,” she said.
Mrs. Merkel also warned that Germany will have to conduct a much more active foreign policy. “We’re experiencing something we’ve never experienced before, that conflicts that appear to be far away, suddenly are here on our doorstep,” she said.
Mrs. Merkel is again scheduled to meet coalition party heads Sigmar Gabriel and Horst Seehofer on Thursday to discuss the topic of transit zones for migrants.
As Breitbart London has reported, the three German political leaders came together last weekend at the behest of Mr. Seehofer but parted without agreement.
Mr. Seehofer, the Bavarian minister-president, has constantly called for emergency measures to deal with the human influx, including setting a cap on the number Germany will let in and building border reception centres to screen incoming migrants before they set foot in the country.
He has gone as far as to threaten to take the federal government to the German constitutional court.
The proposal to process asylum applications before migrants cross the border has until now been roundly rejected by Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.