Europe could do more for refugee — UN refugee head

The new head of the UN refugee agency has told the BBC that EU states could take more genuine refugees from Syria if they worked together better.

Italian diplomat Filippo Grandi, who took over the post from Portugal's Antonio Guterres this year, was speaking on a visit to Lebanon.

Mr Grandi also urged the EU to do more for Syrian refugees outside Europe.

EU leaders have warned of a crisis after more than one million migrants entered illegally last year.

The BBC quotes the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls as having said that "If Europe can't protect its own borders, it's the very idea of Europe that could be thrown into doubt."

On Friday, his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, warned: "When spring comes and the numbers quadruple, we cannot as the EU cope with the numbers any longer."

The new UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been meeting refugees in camps in Lebanon and Jordan.

Speaking to the BBC's Quentin Somerville, Mr Grandi said: "Europe can absorb more genuine refugees if it would be better organised among the different member-states.

"However, we understand the predicament. It is a social and political predicament which is very serious."