EU to financially assist countries sheltering Syrian refugees

The president of the European Parliament called on the EU to approve 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) for the Middle East countries hosting millions of Syrian refugees.

Martin Schulz said EU members should raise the money to help refugees in camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

In a statement released after he met President Francois Hollande in Paris, Schulz said: "The people who are arriving [in Europe] are refugees who have been threatened. We should welcome them. We should also immediately appropriate billions of euros for Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey."

More than 4 million Syrians have fled their country, with nearly half hosted in Turkey, which has spent $5.6 billion on them since April 2011.

Meanwhile, Germany hailed Turkey's achievements in sheltering around two million Syrian refugees Monday and called on the EU to provide more support.

"We have a huge respect for Turkey's efforts," Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli said at a news conference in Berlin. "When one visits there and sees Turkey's efforts, one also gets a realistic picture showing how important it is not to leave Turkey alone."

She welcomed an EU plan for a 1 billion euro ($1.12 billion) program to assist Turkey, announced by EU enlargement Chief Johannes Hahn last week.

Among the new measures to address the refugee crisis, EU leaders are also expected to compile a list of "safe countries of origin" to accelerate asylum applications.

Faced with a record number of applications, immigration authorities must be able to differentiate between economically motivated migrants and asylum-seekers escaping conflict or persecution. The European Commission has submitted a draft list of safe countries, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.

The list assumes that people passing through these countries would not face persecution or danger, easing the process for returning them.

Chebli said Turkey should not be included as a safe country. "We do not share the view that Turkey should be classified as a safe country of origin," she said, without offering an explanation.