German regional elections - big winner was without question the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

German regional elections - big winner was without question the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

The day’s big winner was without question the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). The party ran a xenophobic campaign that played on public fears about refugees. It took nearly a quarter of the votes in Saxony-Anhalt, where it finished second. The party, which appeared on the ballot for the first time, won more than 10 percent of the vote in the other two states as well, signaling broad regional opposition to Merkel’s stance on refugees.

All of the established parties took a thrashing in at least one state. The Greens, for example, won Baden-Württemberg but collapsed in Rhineland Palatinate. The Social Democrats held Rhineland Palatinate but slumped in the other two states to historic lows.

But no party was hit harder than Merkel’s CDU, with declining support across the board. The result will have profound political implications for the chancellor both in Germany and Europe.

For years, Germany appeared to be an island in Europe as the only major country without a strong far-right populist movement. Political scientists and columnists debated the degree to which the German anomaly was rooted in the trauma of the country’s 20th century history.

Turns out these voters were always there, they just weren’t voting. In all three states that held elections Sunday, the main source of the AfD’s support was from voters who hadn’t cast a ballot in the last election. It also poached hundreds of thousands of voters from the established parties, in particular, Merkel’s CDU. The AfD’s strong showing reflects deep dissatisfaction in many parts of Germany with the political establishment.

Support for such parties in other countries has proved volatile. While the refugee backlash proved to be a perfect match for the AfD’s anti-foreigner message, support for such parties in other countries has proved volatile.

Nonetheless, that the party managed to capture between 12.5 percent and 24 percent of the vote in its first running in the three states that held elections on Sunday is nothing short of stunning. It suggests that AfD, which has morphed from an anti-euro movement into the kind of right-wing populist party typical across Europe, is here to stay.

The CDU and the CSU, its more conservative Bavarian sister, will likely be tempted to try to recapture the support they’ve lost on their right flank.

So far, those attempts have largely failed, as voters opted for the original. Hmmm......As i predicted months ago ! In my opinion this doesn't mean that all voters of AfD are right extreme , just if their current leadership doesn't act on their grievances they will look for an alternative that will. (Protest votes). Read the full story here.

@HasanSari7 @EjmAlrai predicted Right wing extremism will rise everywhere, if govs don't handle events well, they will look for new leaders

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) November 21, 2015

Merkel's CDU Set for Regional clobbering as Critics Slam Turkey-EU Deal.

Merkel's CDU Set for Regional clobbering as Critics Slam Turkey-EU Deal. (SP).

Despite German Chancellor Angela Merkel describing the recently announced EU-Turkey refugee deal as a "breakthrough" towards solving the current crisis, many critics at home remain unconvinced, with Merkel's party tipped for heavy losses in regional elections this weekend.

As critics within the EU parliament scolded the provisional EU deal with Turkey, skeptics in Germany also took aim at the agreement, with the leftist Die Linke party likening the deal to Turkish "blackmail."

On the other side of the political spectrum, the right-wing tabloid newspaper, Bild, was equally critical of the deal, with an online editorial accusing EU leaders of planning to "spend billions to support and even accelerate Turkey's path towards becoming an authoritarian religious state based on violence, just to ensure that the regime there takes the refugees off our hands".

More than 12 million Germans are set to elect regional parliaments in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, with polls suggesting Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is to be heavily punished for its open-door refugee policy.

In the CDU's traditional stronghold of Baden-Württemberg, a recent poll suggested the party's support had dropped by more than 10 percentage points, placing it second behind the Green Party. While elsewhere, increased support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party was expected to further erode CDU votes.

The elections are seen as a litmus test of public opinion on Merkel's refugee policies, amid rising anger over the chancellor's refusal to place an upper cap on the number of refugees Germany was willing to accept. Read the full story here.

Merkel Under Fire in Legal Threat Over Refugees Numbers From Coalition Partners

When will #Merkel come out and give the numbers she agreed upon with #Erdogan in November? pic.twitter.com/7wOJw9k2dZ

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) February 18, 2016

Merkel Under Fire in Legal Threat Over Refugees Numbers From Coalition Partners. (SP).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who heads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has come under further fire from the sister party in the grand coalition, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), which is threatening legal action over her refugee policy.

At the annual congress of his CSU party Seehofer made the German leader look like "a schoolgirl," according to local media. In a 13-minute tirade, he lambasted Merkel over the handling of the refugee crisis, demanding she set a limit on the number of asylum-seekers the country would accept.

Seehofer has called for a maximum limit of 200,000 refugees to be accepted in 2016.

"From our past experience I can say Germany has no problem with an influx of 100,000 or at most 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees fleeing war. This number is manageable and also allows for integration. Anything more than that I think is too much," he said.

In January, Seehofer said he would send Merkel a written request to restore "orderly conditions" at the nation's borders, through which over a million migrants and refugees passed in 2015. "If it doesn't follow, the state government will have no other choice but to file a suit at the Federal Constitutional Court," Seehofer told Der Spiegel magazine.

CSU senior lawmaker Peter Ramsauer has now told Seehofer to quickly submit the threatened action against the refugee policy of the Federal Government to the Federal Constitutional Court.Read the full story here.

Jews and Refugees in Europe.

Jews and Refugees in Europe. PressurePoints. By Elliott Abrams.

Prof. Daniel Byman (of Brookings and Georgetown) wrote recently that

If the refugees are treated as a short-term humanitarian problem rather than as a long-term integration challenge, then we are likely to see this problem worsen.

Radicals will be among those who provide the religious, educational, and social support for the refugees – creating a problem where none existed.

Indeed, the refugees need a comprehensive and long-term package that includes political rights, educational support, and economic assistance as well as immediate humanitarian aid, particularly if they are admitted in large numbers.

If they cannot be integrated into local communities, then they risk perpetuating, or even exacerbating, the tensions between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Europe.

The non-Muslim communities most likely to feel the brunt of those tensions are Jewish communities. German Jewish leaders explained the problem to Chancellor Merkel this week, warning of “widespread anti-Semitism among Muslim youth” in Germany and noting that “Many refugees come from countries where Israel is an enemy; this resentment is often transferred to Jews in general.” There are also reports that Germany’s security agencies have expressed the same warning. Read the full story here.

Video - Bavarian PM Horst Seehofer has given Merkel until Sunday to close 'open door' for refugees.

'Refugees...not Welcome' - A far-right, anti-refugee party has won a landslide victory in Poland.

'Refugees...not Welcome' - A far-right, anti-refugee party has won a landslide victory in Poland. (Thejournal.ie).

POLAND’S CONSERVATIVE LAW and Justice party won a landslide in yesterday’s general election on anti-refugee rhetoric and welfare promises, ending eight years of centrist rule in a victory that risks inflaming tensions with the EU and Russia.

The eurosceptic PiS led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski garnered an outright majority, according to projections from partial results by local television channels, ousting leftist parties from parliament for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989.

“This is the first time in the history of Polish democracy that a single party has scored (an outright) majority” in the Sejm, the lower house, Kaczynski said in a victory speech after Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz conceded defeat.

He also paid tribute to his twin bother, the late president Lech Kaczynski, who died in a 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, western Russia, saying: “Without him, we wouldn’t be here today. His spirit is stronger than his body. We must keep his memory alive.”

His push for power preyed on fears arising from Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War II and analysts said a PiS government was likely to reverse Kopacz’s decision to accept refugees under an EU quota plan.

Kaczynski claimed refugees were bringing “cholera to the Greek islands, dysentery to Vienna, various types of parasites,” in comments that critics said recalled the Nazi era.

He insists Warsaw should financially support EU efforts to tackle the crisis, but not take in refugees — a view surveys suggest is shared by nearly 60 percent of Poles.

“After eight years in opposition, Kaczynski is making a big comeback,” Warsaw political analyst Eryk Mistewicz told AFP.

Poland has become an east European heavyweight after a quarter century of explosive growth and vastly-improved living standards since the demise of communism.

“Rather than aggressively locking horns with the EU, he will look for ways to extract maximum benefit from it. With Russia, he may also forego confrontation,” he said.

Analysts agree the PiS will still anchor Poland’s security policy in NATO and strong US ties as a buffer against any threat from Russia.

It will seek ways to continue heavy reliance on coal at upcoming global climate talks, and joining the eurozone will remain a distant prospect.

Some warn Kaczynski’s return could relaunch a political dynamic tinged with authoritarian overtones.

“If PiS end up governing alone with an allied president, Poland will become another Hungary,” Polish Academy of Sciences professor Radoslaw Markowski told AFP. Hmmm......As i warned far right will rise all over Europe. Read the full story here.

Video - Drone captures mass refugee movement near Slovenia-Croatia border crossing

EU pushes to end migrant chaos with Balkans 'Borders' plan.

EU pushes to end migrant chaos with Balkans 'Borders' plan. (HD).

The EU pledged on Oct. 26 to help set up 100,000 places in reception centres along the migrant route through the Balkans, in a bid to defuse rising tensions on its eastern frontier over how to deal with the crisis.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made the announcement after emergency talks with the heads of 10 EU nations, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, plus the leaders of non-EU Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.

"Managing migration flows together is the only way to restore order, to slow down the uncontrolled flow of people. The uncontrolled flow of people must be stopped," Juncker told a press conference in Brussels.

The meeting comes after Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia on Oct. 24 warned they could close their borders to stop them becoming a "buffer zone" for the tens of thousands of people streaming into Europe every day.

"This is one of the greatest litmus tests Europe has ever faced," Merkel told the press conference with Juncker.

Some 3,000 have died making the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing and, with winter fast approaching, the fear is that more could face the same fate on the land route through the Balkans.

The reception places, to be provided with the help of the United Nations' refugee agency, the UNHCR, will help provide shelter and speed up registration of migrants, Juncker said.

Some 50,000 places will be created across Balkans countries such as Macedonia and Serbia, while the other half will be located in Greece. That includes 30,000 to be made available this year, and another 20,000 will be set up with families or in rental housing subsidised by the UNHCR.

By trying to separate genuine refugees from economic migrants, the centres would also help speed the planned relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers from overstretched Greece and Italy throughout the 28-nation EU.

Juncker issued a statement with 17 proposals, including an undertaking that no country will let migrants through to an adjoining state without first getting their neighbour's agreement.

Turkey, the starting point for most of the migrants, was absent from the meeting but was on leaders' minds, with officials viewing its help as crucial in stemming the influx to Europe.

Ankara has demanded three billion euros ($3.3 billion) a year and visa-free travel for Turks in return for its cooperation.

The 10 leaders from the EU who attended the mini summit were from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, The Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. The meeting took place amid a clear split in the EU over how to best handle the crisis. Hmmm.....It won't work with Erdogan using these refugees as a wedge to get in to the EU. Read the full story here.


Related: 807 000 migrants entered EU in first nine months of 2015, U.S. research shows Immigrants cut Native employment.

'Islamist' Turkey announces new wave of 50,000 Syrian refugees to head for Europe.

'Islamist' Turkey announces new wave of 50,000 Syrian refugees to head for Europe. (BG).

A senior government official said Turkey, which is a staunch opponent of Assad and has been incensed by Russia's intervention in support of him, has been expecting new refugee movements because Moscow's air strikes had targeted relatively stable parts of Syria where civilians were sheltering.

Both Kınık and the government official said many would try to smuggle themselves on to Europe, as Turkey? and its European partners struggle to combat people-trafficking networks.

"Our worry is the changing profile of the refugees. Migrants who came to Turkey in the past had the hope of returning and saw Turkey as a temporary home," the official said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"Now it has become a transit location. The final destination is Europe...which is why steps must be taken to restore calm in Syria. There's little point trying to address the symptoms without solving the main problem."

Turkey is under pressure from the European Union, which it aspires to join, to do more to keep refugees on its soil and help stem the biggest migration movement the continent has seen since World War Two. The EU has proposed financial aid and faster membership for Turkey in the hope of winning its help.

But it is already sheltering more than 2.2 million refugees and while its wants more funding, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Monday Turkey should not be expected to turn itself into a "concentration camp" for refugees. Read the full story here.

#Turkey's @RT_Erdogan tells @eucopresident & @JunckerEU: Imagine if we open the gates and let these people to go to Europe

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) October 22, 2015

President @RT_Erdogan says he met with @eucopresident & @JunckerEU and all have come to point of saying they are in need of #Turkey

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) October 22, 2015

German police union chief: "Germany must build border fence, rest of EU Will follow suit".

Hungary fences.

German police union chief: "Germany must build border fence, rest of EU Will follow suit". (DW).

German police union chief has called for a fence to be built along the country's border to stem the flow of migrants. Rainer Wendt told the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper that other countries would then follow suit.

 He said the move would trigger a chain reaction in other European countries, which have seen hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and elsewhere flood over their borders.
"If we close our borders in this way, Austria will also close the border with Slovenia. That's exactly the effect we need," Wendt, the chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG), is quoted as saying.

In a warning to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wendt said Germany was facing "social unrest" due to the large number of migrants entering the country.

"Our internal (law and) order is at risk...Someone needs to pull the emergency brake now," he cautioned. Hmmmm........As i warned the right will rise, all over Europe, "Deutschland magst ruhig sein'' Read the full story here.

German intelligence closely monitoring anti-Islam movements.

German intelligence closely monitoring anti-Islam movements. (ET).

BERLIN: Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is closely monitoring anti-Islam movements like PEGIDA following a march last week in which demonstrators held up a mock gallows with a noose marked for Chancellor Angela Merkel, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.

“The parading around of this gallows last week is a clear example that the baiting, the aggressive potential of this movement is growing,” the spokesman told a regular government news conference. “This development is being watched very closely by domestic intelligence authorities, both at the federal and state level.”

PEGIDA is scheduled to hold a rally in Dresden on Monday night which will mark the one-year anniversary of its marches there. Several thousand took part in a rally last week at which a marcher held up mock gallows with the names of Merkel and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on them.

Merkel's CSU allies oppose speeding up Turkish EU bid for migrant help

Merkel's Bavarian allies oppose speeding up Turkish EU bid for migrant help. (BG).

Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy towards refugees and embrace of Turkey drew criticism on Monday from conservative allies, with one senior Bavarian politician warning against any consideration of European Union membership for Ankara.

Germany is a favored destination for refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa and expects 800,000 to a million new arrivals this year. Many Germans feel the country cannot cope with the record influx.

Under pressure within her own party to take a harder line on refugees, Merkel sees Turkey's role as key in helping to manage the influx, which has chipped away at popular support for her conservatives.

But her offer to help push forward Ankara's protracted EU membership talks was met with misgivings by some conservative lawmakers on Monday.

"We shouldn't make too many concessions to Turkey: joining the EU is not on the agenda," Gerda Hasselfeldt, a senior member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), told Die Welt newspaper.

"An accession of Turkey to the EU is out of the question for me," Stephan Mayer, a fellow CSU lawmaker told the same paper.

Last week, Merkel faced calls from some of her own conservatives to tighten Germany's border controls and turn away refugees arriving from Austria -- pressure she has resisted.

But opposition to her handling of the crisis continues to grow, with a group of conservative politicians working on proposals to close the borders and put up fences, daily Bild reported on Monday.

"We need to stop the wave of refugees. Examining whether to fortify the borders should not be taboo," CDU lawmaker Christian von Stetten told the paper.

Von Stetten said he was convinced the government had an "effective plan" to deal with the influx of refugees, but added the CDU/CSU parliamentary group would have to react if it turned out in the next few weeks that this assumption was false.

Last week, German lawmakers approved measures to tackle the crisis, including speeding up asylum and deportation procedures and reducing incentives for economic migrants to come to Germany.

Obama 'Admin' Sent Toyota's Not to Syrian 'Moderates', But to Nusra Front - German Media

Obama 'Admin' Sent Toyota's Not to Syrian 'Moderates', But to Nusra Front - German Media. (SP).

ISIL fighters were reported to use Toyota Hilux pickup trucks during their military operations and attacks.

At the same time, the US recently sent Syrian rebels 43 vehicles of this model, the newspaper wrote. 

A US official earlier stated that Toyota Hilux vehicles are "essential to support the moderate opposition forces on the ground," referring to the members of al-Qaeda’s regional branch, Al-Nusra Front. However, the trucks were captured by ISIL and may be used by the militants in future attacks.

From Washington's blog:

Al Nusra Front is literally Al Qaeda.

Public Radio International – an American public radio outlet – also documented a specific shipment of Toyotas by the U.S. State Department in 2014:

Recently, when the US State Department resumed sending non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels, the delivery list included 43 Toyota trucks. 

Hiluxes were on the Free Syrian Army’s wish list. Oubai Shahbander, a Washington-based advisor to the Syrian National Coalition, is a fan of the truck. 

“Specific equipment like the Toyota Hiluxes are what we refer to as force enablers for the moderate opposition forces on the ground,” he adds. Shahbander says the US-supplied pickups will be delivering troops and supplies into battle. Some of the fleet will even become battlefield weapons.

That’s exactly what happened …Hmmm......Why am i not surprised? They Never met a terrorist they did not like.

Germany: No more refugees.....'We're Under Water'.

Germany: No more refugees.....'We're Under Water'. (Spiegel).

Mohammed sleeps on a mattress in the auditorium of a home for children and youth located not far from the Nuremberg city center. The facility is operated by the Rumelsberger Diakonie, the local chapter of Germany's nationwide Protestant charity operation. Werner Pfingstgraef, who is responsible for unaccompanied minors at the facility, says: "If I compare the present situation with the floods (of 2013), then you have to say, we're under water." Every one of his employees, he says, is running "like they were on a hamster wheel."

Last year, the Bavarian Social Affairs Ministry forecast that 500 to 600 unaccompanied minors would arrive. But 3,400 came, says Pfingstgraef. He estimates that some 14,000 are currently in Bavaria. Still, despite the difficulties of the present situation, he warns against lowering standards in response. "If we aren't successful in getting these young people a school certificate and stabilizing them, we will pay for it bitterly one day."

It's everywhere, this anger with Merkel -- in the conference hall in Schkeuditz on Wednesday evening, for example. It's the kind of regional conference that Merkel likes to set up so as to calm ruffled party feathers. But this time, it is more than just ruffled feathers. This time, it is an open revolt.

It's not just the party rank and file who join the debate, but also regional officials, mayors and former state parliamentarians. They say that Merkel opened the gates to the refugees and that she should finally take steps to limit the inflow. One says: "In my opinion, you have failed."

Merkel is looking increasingly isolated. Government sources say she has made refugee policy her personal concern, and now she is being left to deal with it on her own. Last week, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière confided in his Luxembourg counterpart, telling him that Merkel did not have a plan, only "cold feet."

Even if the chancellor remains convinced that Germany can handle the influx of refugees, when it comes to unaccompanied minors, Germany is failing in many areas. And money isn't even the problem. There are no buildings that satisfy the criteria established by the youth welfare office. There are insufficient personnel with backgrounds in education because too few students have pursued degrees in the subjects needed.

Merkel's critics also know that there are no simple solutions. But that's not their focus. They want to send a "message to the global public" that even a rich county like Germany can't accept an unlimited number of people, as Governor Horst Seehofer, who is the head of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's CDU, puts it.

But the message is also intended for domestic consumption. Many conservative lawmakers would like to see the reintroduction of border controls and want people who have no chance of receiving asylum to be blocked from entering Germany at the border. They want the state to demonstrate that it hasn't completely lost control of who enters the country.

Merkel believes that this is the wrong approach. In the meeting with parliamentary conservatives, she repeated her conviction that securing borders wouldn't work on a national level. Only on the European level. CDU domestic policy specialist Armin Schuster contradicted the chancellor. "I am a federal police officer," he began. "Ms. Chancellor, have faith. The federal police force can handle it."

Others had the same message. Clemens Binninger, a member of parliament from the state of Baden-Württemberg, said: "If you are of the opinion that we can't control and reject, then I am of a different opinion." Hans-Peter Uhl, a conservative from Bavaria, predicted the end of Merkel's political career if she doesn't change her approach: "When the people realize that the government cannot or will not protect them, then the people will elect a different government."

Merkel's confidants in the Chancellery had thought that they had the conflict at least temporarily under control. On Monday morning, Merkel spoke with CSU head Horst Seehofer on the phone and told him that she too would begin openly supporting the idea of creating so-called "transit zones," similar to immigration facilities found at international airports along Germany's borders.

The zones would be for refugees who are ineligible for refugee status and would enable them to be sent back home immediately. CSU lawmakers, with the support of German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, had been demanding the establishment of such zones for the previous two weeks. Hmmm.....As i warned right away at the start Extreme right will rise in Europe.Read the full story here.

Related: 807 000 migrants entered EU in first nine months of 2015, U.S. research shows Immigrants cut Native employment.

Archbishop of Mosul Dire warning to Europe: "Our suffering is a foretaste of what you will endure"

Flashback: Archbishop of Mosul Dire warning to Europe: "Our suffering is a foretaste of what you will endure". (UnserTirol).[GoogleTranslated].

The archbishop of Mosul (Iraq), Amel Shimon Nona, turns with exhortation to Europeans and Christians. He warns of too liberal values ​​and policies. This was in the Middle East "worth nothing".

"Our present sufferings is a foretaste of what you will suffer in the near future you Europeans and Christians. I've lost my diocese. The premises of my apostolate were occupied by Islamist radicals who want to see us either converted or dead. But my church is still alive.

Please try to understand us. Your liberal democratic principles are worth nothing here. You have the reality in the Middle East in mind, for you is an ever-growing number of Muslims in your country welcome. But you are in danger. You must firm and courageous decisions, even at the cost to contradict your principles.

You believe that all men are equal, but that's not true: Islam does not say that all people are equal. Your values ​​are not his. If you do not understand the fast enough, you'll prey to the enemy, whom you welcomed with you at home. "

On the question of whether Islam per se is already a danger responds Amel Nona:

"No of course not. The vast majority of Muslims want nothing more than you and I. Live peacefully with each other. So they live. Without a doubt. But in the West, the threat posed by IS, by Salafists, jihadists, still ignored criminally. You are too naive in the West. Islam, the Sharia, as propagated completely different values ​​in part. Which are not always compatible with the values ​​of the West.

Islam is in deep crisis. For centuries already. He has without a doubt a tremendously spiritual, theological, humanistic potential. Only: This is not used. It lies fallow. Many Muslims were therefore prone to ideologues and demagogues who interpret the fundamentals of religion of Islam in its own way.

The consequences are shown here. These episodes will also be felt in the West sometime. 

In Europe there is today a constantly growing jihadist potential that hates the West. The West has no answer to this threat and to this day comes from the Islam out no response to this threat. What has developed here, will spread further, will not stop at your borders. It has long made it with you and overgrown with you further. "

(From "ISIS global jihad" by Bruno Schirra). The statements of the archbishop date back to 2014. So even before the terrorist attacks of Paris and Copenhagen.

80 % of refugees are NOT from Syria: EU numbers expose the 'lie' that the majority of refugees are fleeing war theater.

Source Eurostat.

80 % of refugees are NOT from Syria: EU numbers expose the 'lie' that the majority of refugees are fleeing war theater. (DM).

Only one in every five migrants claiming asylum in Europe is from Syria.

The EU logged 213,000 arrivals in April, May and June but only 44,000 of them were fleeing the Syrian civil war. Campaigners and left-wing MPs have suggested the vast majority of migrants are from the war-torn state, accusing the Government of doing too little to help them.

'This exposes the lie peddled in some quarters that vast numbers of those reaching Europe are from Syria,' said David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth. 'Most people who are escaping the war will go to camps in Lebanon or Jordan.

'Many of those who have opted to risk their lives to come to Europe have done so for economic reasons.'

Sir Bill Cash, a fellow Tory, said: 'These figures make extremely disturbing reading. The whole argument has been made that this influx is all real refugees from Syria whereas this adds to the substantial evidence that there are a large number of economic migrants who are aiming for a better life.'

The figures from Eurostat, the EU's official statistical agency, show that migration from April to June was running at double the level of the same period in 2014.

The number of Afghans lodging asylum claims is up four-fold, from 6,300 to 27,000. Another 17,700 claims were made by Albanians, whose country is at peace.

A further 13,900 applicants came from Iraq which, like Syria, is being torn apart by the Islamic State terror group. This exposes the lie peddled in some quarters that vast numbers of those reaching Europe are from Syria. David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth

Half a million migrants have arrived in Europe so far this year, with 156,000 coming in August alone. Rather than claiming asylum in the first safe EU country they reach, most head on toward wealthy northern states.

The EU requires that each asylum claim be processed in the first EU country reached by the asylum seeker, under the so-called Dublin system.

The human cost of the crisis has been paid by the estimated 3,000 migrants who have drowned after putting their lives in the hands of people smugglers for the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. Hmmmm........According to the chart above most came from Iraq, number two.........KOSOVO.. Read the full story here.