Sweden near ‘collapse’ due to mass influx of asylum seekers: Foreign minister
Sweden claims it is on the verge of “collapse” due the mass influx of asylum seekers, saying the European Union needs to take more actions to ease the strain on Stockholm.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström made the remarks in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, published on Friday, while her country is currently campaigning for other EU member states to take in a greater quota of asylum seekers escaping violence in the Middle East and Africa.
“I think most people feel that we cannot maintain a system where perhaps 190,000 people will arrive every year – in the long run, our system will collapse. And that welcome is not going to receive popular support,” she said, adding that her country is “approaching the limit” of its reception capacity.
Wallström, however, said that she was disappointed as the negotiations with the EU members had been fruitless so far and not produced the desired results.
“I have to admit that there have been moments recently of very great disappointment. I have heard statements from member states that have been completely astonishing and very discouraging,” she further noted.
The Scandinavian country is one of the most desired destinations for asylum seekers, due to its generous benefit system.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the quota system for distributing refugees as it was adopted without respect for public opinion, which might cause a “democracy crisis.”
The European continent is facing a crisis as it is receiving a record number of refugees. While a few European leaders support an open-door refugee policy, others are in favor of controlling the external borders of the EU, deporting more people and paying third countries to keep asylum seekers on their soil.
According to the latest figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 704,220 refugees have reached Europe’s shores so far this year while a total of 3,257 people have either died or gone missing in their perilous journey to the continent.
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