Ladies and Gentlemen,
Europe is at an important crossroads.
Our response to the refugee crisis will shape our history.
It will shape the future of our cultures and our societies.
It will demonstrate to our citizens how European and how united we want to be in the future.
After several heated debates at national and European level, we have made progress.
We formally adopted the decision to relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece.
But for our proposal on 120 000, we do not have the agreement we wanted.
A majority of the Member States are ready to move forward, but not all.
I would to thank the Luxemburgish presidency for their hard work to find a compromise.
The Commission is determined to take action.
We will need another Council meeting in the coming days. This has always been how Europe works.
When we do not succeed the first time, we try again.
The world is watching us. It is time for each and every one to take their responsibility.
