European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged the European Union governments on Wednesday to accept a mandatory system to share out a wave of refugees fleeing war and poverty but also promised to improve frontier defences and deport more illegal migrants.
In his first State of the Union address to the European Parliament, Mr. Juncker outlined an emergency plan to distribute 160,000 refugees among the 28 EU member states and promised a permanent asylum mechanism to cope with future crises.
He appealed to Europeans to respond to the crisis with humanity, dignity and "historical fairness" and not take fright, saying the vast majority of the 500,000 people who had arrived in Europe this year were fleeing war in Syria and Libya, "the terror of the Islamic State" or "dictatorship in Eritrea".
"It is Europe today that represents a beacon of hope, a haven of stability in the eyes of women and men in the Middle East and in Africa. That is something to be proud of and not something to fear," he said.
"The Europe I want to live in is illustrated by those who want to help," he added, denouncing calls to discriminate among refugees according to their religion.
He was heckled by Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, who said most of those arriving were economic migrants and the EU should emulate Australia's "stop the boats" policy to halt a flow of "biblical proportions".
Italian lawmaker Gianluca Buonanno of the anti-immigration Northern League donned an Angela Merkel face-mask to interrupt Mr. Juncker in an attempt to suggest that the German Chancellor was dictating asylum policy to Europe. Berlin has said it expects to receive up to 800,000 asylum seekers in 2015.
Mr. Juncker confirmed plans for a common EU list of "safe countries of origins" whose citizens would be subject to fast-track deportations if they breached EU immigration laws.
He also urged EU member states to allow refugees to work from day one while their asylum applications are processed.
