Editing Angela Merkel (section)

===Immigration, refugees and migration===
In October 2010, Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at [[Potsdam]] that attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany had "utterly failed",<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451 |title=Merkel says German multicultural society has failed |date=17 October 2010 |archive-date=17 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017050644/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451 |url-status = live}}</ref> stating that: "The concept that we are now living side by side and are happy about it" does not work<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101017/wl_afp/germanymuslimreligionimmigration |title=Merkel Says German Multi-Cultural Society Has Failed |publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] |first=Audrey |last=Kauffmann |date=17 October 2010 |access-date=18 December 2013 |archive-date=18 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018203110/http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101017/wl_afp/germanymuslimreligionimmigration |url-status = dead}}</ref> and "we feel attached to the Christian concept of mankind, that is what defines us. Anyone who doesn't accept that is in the wrong place here."<ref>{{cite news|title=Zentralrat der Juden kritisiert Seehofer: Debatte ist scheinheilig und hysterisch |language=de |url=http://www.swr.de/nachrichten/-/id=396/nid=396/did=7030978/166vg7v/index.htm |newspaper=Südwestrundfunk |access-date=21 October 2010 |quote=Wir fühlen uns dem christlichen Menschenbild verbunden, das ist das, was uns ausmacht. Wer das nicht akzeptiert, der ist bei uns fehl am Platz |archive-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001195707/http://www.swr.de/nachrichten/-/id=396/nid=396/did=7030978/166vg7v/index.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> She continued to say that immigrants should integrate and adopt Germany's culture and values. This added to a growing debate within Germany on the acceptable levels and mechanisms of immigration, its effects on Germany, and the degree to which Muslim immigrants had integrated into German society.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11532699 |date=17 October 2010 |work=BBC News |title=Germany's charged immigration debate |archive-date=14 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014045042/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11532699 |url-status = live}}</ref>

Merkel is in favour of a "mandatory solidarity mechanism" for [[European migrant crisis#Quota system (relocation)|relocation of asylum-seekers]] from Italy and Greece to other [[Member state of the European Union|EU member states]] as part of the long-term solution to Europe's migrant crisis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Merkel Losing Her Patience with Lack of EU Solidarity |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/europe-s-refugee-disaster-merkel-losing-her-patience-with-lack-of-eu-solidarity-a-2a13fc6c-3fc3-4d86-9eb7-70f9c1b49ef0 |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=18 September 2020 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924024039/https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/europe-s-refugee-disaster-merkel-losing-her-patience-with-lack-of-eu-solidarity-a-2a13fc6c-3fc3-4d86-9eb7-70f9c1b49ef0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Germany pushes for EU solidarity on migration – again |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants/germany-pushes-for-eu-solidarity-on-migration-again-idUSKCN26D12V |first1=Thomas |last1=Escritt |first2=Gabriela |last2=Baczynska |work=Reuters |date=22 September 2020 |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203150412/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants/germany-pushes-for-eu-solidarity-on-migration-again-idUSKCN26D12V |url-status=live }}</ref>