She pointed to the excellent relations between the two countries and the close partnership that already exists in the fields of climate change mitigation, development cooperation and engagement in Afghanistan.

During the inaugural visit of the Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä to Berlin, the two leaders discussed in particular the refugee situation. In terms of the need to fight the root causes of the problem in particular there is a great deal of common ground, stressed Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Major items on the agenda were the need to end the civil war in Syria and the situation of the UN aid agencies, the World Food Programme and UNHCR in the region. "Everything must be done in order to eliminate the factors that are forcing people to flee refugee camps," said the Chancellor. Other important factors include the role of Turkey and securing the external borders of the EU.

Extraordinary meeting of EU leaders to consult on refugee situation

With a view to the extraordinary meeting of EU heads of state or government on Wednesday, the focus will partly be on a fair distribution of the burden imposed on EU states by the refugee crisis. The construction of hotspots in countries with an external border (Italy and Greece in particular) will be discussed and a large number of common positions will be presented. "Without hotspots there can be no allocation of refugees," said Angela Merkel.

The Chancellor also pledged to work for a stable government in Libya, with which the EU can negotiate, also in terms of the flows of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean. At the same time further talks will have to be held with Turkey, in order to better secure the Greek-Turkish border. The Chancellor reported that she had already spoken by telephone with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The Chancellor again declared herself optimistic that together it will prove possible to tackle the root causes of the refugee problem. Fear has never been a good counsellor, though, she said. In-country assistance must be stepped up and the refugee process properly organised within the EU. "We can’t do this by building fences", but only by providing support and aid in the countries affected, said the Chancellor.

In line with the charter of fundamental rights, Europe is morally obliged to help. But if this is to work, all European states and the USA and Russia will have to work together to combat the root causes of migration.

Praise for Finland’s reform agenda

With regard to bilateral relations, the Chancellor praised Finland’s ambitious reform agenda and its prospering trade. This will make Finland more competitive, she said. "This will also be good for our bilateral economic relations," she underlined.

The Finnish Prime Minister praised the good relations between his country and Germany and thanked the German government for its solidarity and the responsible line it has taken on the refugee issue. He stressed that this year Finland has already taken in 12,000 refugees – 3,000 of them last week alone.

Compared to Finland’s population that is roughly equivalent to the number of asylum-seekers in the Federal Republic of Germany. That is why the focus must now be on spreading the burden within Europe, setting up hotspots at the EU’s external borders and identifying long-term solutions to fight the factors that force people to flee their homes in the first place, stressed Juha Sipilä.