EU stance on Muslim refugees unacceptable: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized some European Union members for refusing to accept refugees just because they are Muslim.

“What I continue to think is wrong is that some say 'we generally don't want Muslims in our country, regardless of whether there's a humanitarian need or not,'” Merkel told German public television channel ARD on Sunday.

Several EU members, particularly those in the east with pro-nationalist leaders, oppose any plans to take in any refugees from the Mideast and South Asia.

Last week, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he does not want a large Muslim community because of the "problems we are seeing."  

In her interview on Sunday, Merkel supported the idea of a quota system for fairly distributing asylum-seekers among all the bloc's 28 member states. 

German officials expect to grant entry to as many as 300,000 migrants throughout all of 2016. They are mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, where their lives are in danger from war and Takfiri terrorism.

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar on Sunday distanced himself even further from Merkel's position on the refugee policy. 

''We've always said that it's simply incredible fore Germany to take in a million people per year,'' Gabriel said in an interview with broadcaster ZDF.

SS