Refugee crisis: why Germany opened its doors (and maybe we should too)

Demographic changes are increasing the burden on the working age population

Migrants in Hungary
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been praised for showing moral leadership in the face of the biggest flow of migrants across Europe since the Second World War, but some suggest that her unexpectedly welcoming stance may in fact be driven by economic prudence.

The BBC notes that Germany is to spend €6bn (£4.4bn) on funding for local authorities and to boost benefits to cope with an expected inflow of 800,000 migrants this year. The move comes after the country abandoned the existing protocol of sending people back to the first European Union country they entered.

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