Europe must invest billions for refugee crisis, says Schaeuble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says Europe will have to invest billions to deal with the refugee crisis that it's faced over the past year.

Schaeuble indicated his strong support for efforts to deal with problems in the transit countries at the forefront of the crisis, such as Greece and Italy. He didn't respond to a question on how many more refugees Germany can take in the current year.

At a panel at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Schaeuble said Thursday it would be a “disgrace” if Europe became a fortress.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said Europe has to come up with a comprehensive strategy to deal with the refugee crisis within the next two months.

Rutte said nobody was talking about ending the Schengen Agreement, which allows free movement of people across European borders.

[AP]