Germany: Merkel demands 'special EU Council next week' on refugee crisis

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Austrian counterpart Werner Faymann demanded a special EU Council next week to address the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, during a press conference in the Chancellery in Berlin, Tuesday. "This problem can only be solved together in Europe," Merkel said. Europe should decide on building 'hotspots' in Italy and Greece, she said: if not "we will not be able to allocate refugees. And that's why we think that time is short and that's why we cannot wait until mid-October." German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Tuesday suggested pressure should be put on member states that refuse to take in refugees by giving them less structural funding from the EU. Merkel, however, said threats would not work. "For a long time we have always found solutions ... and talks," she said when asked about it. The German chancellor also was asked if she hadn't attracted "more" refugees by dropping the Dublin Regulation last week. "Honestly, if we should now begin excusing ourselves for having shown a friendly face in emergency situations, then this is not my country," she answered.