国际英语新闻:US Pledges to Accept More Migrants; Europe Unveils Quota Plan

The commission's plan calls for an expanded country-by-country migrant quota system throughout much of Europe, to accept thousands of asylum seekers from the Middle East over the next two years.

Under the plan, Germany, France and Spain would take in the most, followed by Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Belgium and Sweden.

But the quota idea is controversial and adamantly opposed by Hungary and other Central European states.

The new distribution of asylum seekers would be based on a country's economic output, population, unemployment rate and the number of refugees each nation already had agreed to accept.

Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, where refugees have been welcomed with food, water and toys for children, has called Juncker's plan "a first important step."

In remarks Wednesday, she said if Europe failed on the refugee issue, then it would lose one of the founding impulses for a united Europe: universal human rights.

But she cautioned that migrants coming to Germany out of economic need, rather than fleeing war or political persecution, must be turned away.

Germany said it expected 800,000 refugees this year. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said his country could accommodate a half-million refugees annually for several years.

Polls show many Europeans are opposed to the quota plan. Speaking before the parliament after Juncker, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said giving migrants the right to work in France was like spitting in the face of the country’s 7 million jobless citizens.

Seeking peace

The U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the heads of seven European governments in the last two days and stressed that the large majority of migrants were fleeing war and violence in their homelands and had a right to seek asylum.

One Syrian refugee, Mohammed Dahha, said he wanted to reach Sweden and was looking for a peaceful land.

"The people, they are moving from country to another country, from Asia to Europe, to get rest there, OK? To be under peace," he said. "They're looking for peace, because you cannot live without peace."