The governor of the German state of Bavaria has called on the government to limit the number of refugees to no more than 200,000 a year, arguing that his country can only integrate that figure.

"In Germany, we have no problems with the influx of 100,000 to more than 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees from civil war per year. This number is manageable," he said before going to add that, "Anything that goes beyond that, I think is too much." Horst Seehofer said, according to AP.

Speaking to the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, the governor said that his state should be realistic about how many new arrivals it could integrate per year.

The governor went on to argue that the Arab countries, other members of the European Union and the United States should do more. He believes Germany has the U.S. "to thank for many of the problems that are causing people to flee [Syria]."


About one million asylum seekers came to Germany in 2015 with Bavaria as their first point of arrival.

In her New Years address last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged the challenges of dealing with such large influx of refugees, adding “"It's true, we live in challenging times. But it's also true that we can do this, because Germany is a strong country."

Merkel told her nation, "I am convinced that if we tackle the formidable task posed by the influx and integration of so many people in the right way today, then this will represent an opportunity for us tomorrow," Merkel said in the text of a speech supplied by the government before she spoke.

Rudaw