German minister criticises EU refugee policy, urges common programme

German Development Minister Gerd Mueller has clearly directed his criticism at the European refugee policy on Saturday on the occasion of World Refugee Day.

"Lack of solidarity, no coordination and no orderly approach... The current situation is shameful," commented Mueller in an interview. In his opinion, the European Union doesn't place an appropriate emphasis on the refugee policy.

"There is no reasonable explanation for the fact that the EU launches a 315-billion-euro program for economy and at the same time is unable to put 10 billion euros (11.4 billion U.S. dollars) into refugee assistance," Mueller told German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.

In order to better deal with the refugee issue, the EU, noted the minister, must act in solidarity.

Mueller called on the block to readjust its budget to put 10 billion euros in an European program for refugees. He also said the EU needed a special representative for refugee issue, who is responsible for "coordinating policies of the 28 member states and defining focus points."