EU Parliament member Jozo Rados commented on some German MPs’ statements that the country of origin should pay child benefits to foreign workers in Germany, saying this is an old far-right idea which is contrary to EU’s freedom of movement idea and such suggestions are absolutely unacceptable.

“They are meddling in one’s private life which is unacceptable. These child benefits are very small amounts for Germany and I hope Germany will not succumb to these requests,” Rados said.

He also spoke of the migrant issue and announcements that Croatia could be asked to be harsher towards the migrants in order to become part of the Schengen area.

“They (the EU) could insist on that, but Croatia mustn’t agree to something that violates the basic principles of the Schengen. Barbed wire is not the answer, the answer is in the source of the problem,” Rados added. “The EU doesn’t have any influence over those regions and the 2015 migrant wave could happen again and it could be even bigger.”

According to him, the EU does not have an answer to the migrant waves, not just those from the Middle East, but also the migrants from Africa.

“There is no defence against this phenomenon. You can prevent them from entering, physically, but then you are taking responsibility for the lives of those migrants,” Rados concluded.

The Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 European states that have officially abolished passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.