European Union at grave risk over migrant crisis – Manuel Valls warns

Manuel Valls (French Prime Minister)

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that Europe's migration crisis is putting the EU at grave risk.

He told the BBC Europe could not take all the refugees fleeing what he called terrible wars in Iraq or Syria.

"Otherwise," he said, "our societies will be totally destabilised."

Over a million migrants, mostly refugees, arrived in Europe last year, many making perilous journeys. On Friday, at least 21 people were killed as their boats sank off Greek islands.

Mr Valls also said that France would seek to keep its current state of emergency until a "total and global war" against so-called Islamic State (IS) was over.

The measures were introduced after the IS-led Paris attacks on 13 November and then extended for three months.

He was speaking to Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Asked about border controls inside Europe which many fear put the passport-free Schengen zone at great risk, Mr Valls said the concept of Europe itself was now in very grave danger.

Europe, he said, needed to take urgent action to control its external borders. "If Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it's the very idea of Europe that will be questioned,"

He did not directly criticise Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel for her welcoming message last year to refugees.

Mr Valls said she "had courage", but it was clear he believed her message was wrong, our correspondent says.

"A message that says 'Come, you will be welcome' provokes major shifts" in population, says Mr Valls.

He further stated: "We know clearly that after the Cologne incidents that with the continuous flow, not only to Germany but the countries of Northern Europe, Austria, the Balkans are confronted with this influx; that's why we need to find practical solutions for our borders."