German FM: EU needs to organize system for sharing burden of taking in Syrian war refugees
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Germany's foreign minister says the European Union needs to find a way to share the burden of taking in Syrian war refugees.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke Saturday in Amman at a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart.
Steinmeier says Germany is hosting 130,000 Syrian refugees, as one of just a few countries in Europe to do so. Close to 4 million Syrians have fled their country since the conflict there began in 2011.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The majority are being hosted by neighboring countries like Jordan.
Steinmeier suggested that Europe could absorb more refugees. He says that "we need to see if we can't organize a system of sharing the burden" in a European quota system.
He says the idea is controversial and will be debated by EU foreign ministers next week.