Migrants pose threat to Europe's Judeo-Christian foundation, deems Germany's former chancellor
Former chancellor of Germany Helmut Khol has expressed his views on the current refugee crisis -- that Europe does not hold the answer for those in need -- and implied that migrants pose a threat to the Judeo-Christian foundation of the continent.
"The solution lies in the regions concerned. It is not in Europe," Kohl said. "Europe can not be the world into a new home for millions of people in need."
His statement came from the preface he wrote for the new Hungarian translation of his work titled "Out of concern for Europe: An appeal." German news site der Tagesspiegel received a copy of the manuscript prior to the publication of the new edition.
Breitbart reports that the former chancellor, who was the architect behind the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, expressed that migrants and refugees are "from different cultural backgrounds. They follow in significant part, faiths other than Judeo-Christianity, which is one of the foundations of our values and social order."
Kohl holds a view quite different from his successor, Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose open-door policy toward migrants has been criticized for having redirected global migration flows into Europe.
According to FT, the 86-year-old former chancellor met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday. Orban, who has been critical of Merkel's approach to mass migration, has been firm in his stance toward this issue. He has been criticized by other European countries for refusing to host refugees, and he has even built a razor wire fence on Hungary's border with Croatia and Serbia to keep refugees out of its territory. Last year, he met with Horst Seehofer, Bavarian conservative leader, who also wants more strict migration policies.
"I know I agree with my friend Viktor Orban," Breitbart quotes Kohl as saying. The former chancellor also reportedly called the prime minister of Hungary a "European with heart and soul."
"We are aware that we have something to lose and that it is worth fighting for the European project for peace and freedom," Kohl wrote, referring to Orban, as quoted by DW.
The publication, citing Koh'ls allies, reported that the former chancellor's meeting with Orban is not an affront to Merkel.