Germany’s Merkel says EU needs to reach agreement on Poland, migration

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday rule of law is a core aspect of the European Union, which should find ways of reaching agreement with Poland and a common line on migration issues during talks on Friday.

“We have to find ways of coming back together because a cascade of cases at the European Court is not a solution,” Merkel told journalists upon arrival at the EU summit in Brussels. She added European leaders would also talk about migration as the subject has become more relevant after President Alexander Lukashenko’s “hybrid actions” with regard to Poland, Lithuania and Germany.

“We will talk about which forms of economic sanctions we can consider to make it clear we condemn this form of state-backed human trafficking,” she said, adding she regrets the 27 member states have not found a common line on migration so far. On the subject of the energy crisis, Merkel said it should be discussed separately from broader climate change issues and governments needs to be “reasonable” on energy prices.

“We don’t want to shut down the market,” she said.