BERLIN: Germany and France Monday urged the EU to find a fairer way to admit and distribute asylum seekers, as their leaders were to meet the European Commission chief in Berlin.
The Greek debt crisis and the threat of Britain leaving the EU were also sure to occupy minds as Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts President Francois Hollande and Jean-Claude Juncker for a dinner.
Officially the mini-summit starting around 1615 GMT brings the leaders of the eurozone’s two biggest economies together with around 20 heads of large European companies to discuss economic challenges.
But the meeting now comes hard on the heels of a joint call by Paris and Berlin for the 28-nation EU to revise its plan to admit asylum seekers landing on Europe’s shores.
Decrying an insufficient “balance,” the German and French interior ministers said in a joint statement Monday that “deep discussions” were needed to even out “responsibility” and “solidarity.”
Last week, the European Commission asked member states to admit 20,000 Syrian refugees from outside Europe and process another 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea landing in Italy and Greece.
Their distribution would depend on factors such as national economic output, population and unemployment rates.
France and Germany said in the joint statement that they currently were among five member states, along with Sweden, Italy and Hungary, that “are in charge of 75 percent of the asylum seekers.”
“This situation is not fair and no longer sustainable,” it said.
Merkel, Hollande and Juncker are due to deliver press statements in Berlin at 1640 GMT before a working dinner.
European sources have said that the get-together is aimed at working on plans for greater integration of the 19-member eurozone in the wake of the debt turmoil that still plagues cash-strapped Greece.
But Juncker told a German newspaper Monday that he would be “very surprised” if Greece’s woes were not at the heart of the Berlin discussions, reiterating his opposition to a so-called “Grexit.”
“I don’t share this idea that we’d have fewer concerns and constraints if Greece gave up the euro,” the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper quoted him as saying.
Berlin, Paris urge Brussels to rework EU asylum plan
Berlin, Paris urge Brussels to rework EU asylum plan
Indonesia eyes investment boost from UAE after leaders’ meeting
- Indonesia-UAE trade was worth $6.4b in 2025, up from $5b in 2024
- President Prabowo Subianto, MBZ also discussed increasing cooperation in renewable energy, tech, AI
JAKARTA: Indonesia is expecting more investments from the UAE, the Indonesian government said on Friday following talks between President Prabowo Subianto and his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Indonesia’s relations with the UAE grew under former President Joko Widodo, who in 2021 secured more than $46 billion investment commitment from the Gulf state.
Subianto visited Abu Dhabi earlier this week accompanied by Foreign Minister Sugiono, and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia on a trip aimed at strengthening cooperation under the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
“The meeting discussed cooperation to increase investment (and) strengthen bilateral cooperation. The UAE wants to increase its investment in Indonesia,” Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement, without disclosing any amount.
Indonesia and the UAE signed the free trade deal in 2022, which came into force a year later. It was Jakarta’s first with a Gulf country and Abu Dhabi’s first with a Southeast Asian nation.
The Indonesia-UAE CEPA erases about 99 percent of existing tariffs and includes commitments to increase Indonesia’s services exports to the UAE by 6 percent while mutually recognizing each country’s halal certification.
Commerce between the two countries has seen a boost since then, with bilateral trade reaching more than $6.4 billion in 2025, according to Indonesian Trade Ministry data, showcasing an increase of nearly 27 percent from the previous year, when it was worth around $5 billion.
The Emirati state news agency WAM said the talks in Abu Dhabi also covered ways to increase cooperation in other sectors, including renewable energy, technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, food security and culture.
“The (UAE) president noted the continuing progress of long-standing UAE-Indonesia relations, which are founded on mutual trust, respect and shared interests,” WAM said.
“He reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to advancing its development and economic partnership with Indonesia for the benefit of both countries and their peoples.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the UAE.
The UAE was Subianto’s last stop on a multi-nation trip, which included the US, the UK and Jordan.
