German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday called for an EU summit next week on the refugee crisis, saying a common solution was needed to get a grip on the divisive issue. "We will solve this challenge but only on a common level," Merkel told reporters during a press conference in Berlin after talks with her Austrian counterpart Werner Faymann. "We are in a situation that is not very easy and that is one of the biggest challenges that we have had in decades," Merkel added. EU member states failed at a summit of interior ministers on Monday to agree on a system to redistribute refugees among themselves based on a binding quota system, which is backed by Germany and France but opposed by many eastern countries, like Hungary and Poland. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere called on Tuesday for financial sanctions on EU member states refusing to share the burden of accepting refugees. "Those countries that are refusing - nothing happens to them. The refugees simply pass them by," De Maiziere told national public broadcaster ZDF. "And for that reason, we must talk about using pressure," he added, noting that these member states frequently received considerable structural funding from the European Union. Germany and Austria introduced border controls early this week to slow the flow of migrants arriving from Hungary, which on Tuesday announced emergency measures to stop migrants from crossing its border with Serbia where it has completed construction of a fence. Merkel said the border checks, which in effect amount to suspension of the Schengen Agreement on free movement across much of Europe, would remain in place "until safety and security can be established." The German government announced the border controls on Sunday as local authorities complained they could no longer handle the influx of new arrivals, which reached a new record at the weekend. Germany is expecting one million asylum application this year. The controls were also imposed after Merkel was criticized by allies for her decision to wave asylum rules for refugees from Syria, saying their applications will be processed in Germany instead of being sent back to the EU country where they had first arrived. The south-easter state of Bavaria has been the major entry point for most refugees entering Germany from Austria. Official there said at the weekend they were overwhelmed with the influx and were close to a breaking point. De Maiziere said he expressed support for Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal to cut funding EU countries opposed to a quota system for refugee redistribution. Most refugees enter the EU through Greece, which they reach by boats from Turkey, or Italy, where boats arrive from North Africa across the Mediterranean. The refugees, mainly from war-torn Middle Eastern countries, head north to Serbia and Hungary, their gateway to favourite destinations like Germany, Austrian and Sweden. De Maiziere also called on Greece to cease simply funnelling refugees through to the center of Europe. "That has to stop," he said.
