Europe needs more humane treatment of refugees, says expert

Warsaw, June 21 (ENInews)--The European Union risks "undermining its core values" unless it treats refugees and asylum-seekers more humanely, according to a senior Protestant expert.

"Two decades ago, most Europeans would never have believed people would be dying on Europe's borders simply trying to get in," said Torsten Moritz, executive secretary of the ecumenical Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME). "Yet thousands have died doing just that, especially in the Mediterranean, this year alone. This is really undermining our core values and having a de-humanizing effect on European society."

The German Protestant was speaking after a 16-19 June CCME assembly in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, which was addressed by Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis, Orthodox president of the Conference of European Churches.