Merkel Upsets Just About Everyone With Her EU Refugee Plan

German leader provokes criticism from Luxembourg, Austria
Tussle among western EU governments as spending talks start

Bettel, Merkel and Kurz, Feb 23.Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

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By Patrick Donahue and Jonathan Stearns

February 23, 2018 at 1:40 PM UTC

Updated on

February 23, 2018 at 7:04 PM UTC

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to Brussels armed with a fresh demand that eastern European Union countries accept refugees and ended up sparking criticism from western allies in the bloc.

At her first EU summit since striking a German coalition agreement, Merkel touted the idea of tying generous European regional-development aid for nations such as Poland to their willingness to help house migrants from the Middle East and Africa.