The head of Germanys most populous state North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) visited the migrant camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday. After speaking to organizations working there, Armin Laschet called on the whole EU to "wake up" and said that he had listened to those in despair in the camps.

Armin Laschet, from the conservative CDU (Christian Democratic Union)party, is the head of Germany's most populous state North RhineWestphalia and has been touted as one of the future candidates totake over from German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she leaves officeat the next elections.

OnTuesday August 4, Laschet visited migrant camps on the Greek islandof Lesbos and spoke to those working for aid organizations in thecamps. He told the news agency dpa that visiting the camps was likelistening to "screams of desperation".

'Wake up Europe!'

Laschetcalled upon the European Union to "wake up" and said thatGermany's holding of the rotating EU presidency offered the chanceto find some "lasting solutions" to the migrant crisis. He saidthat Europe needed to help the Greek government and not leave theGreek people, the migrants themselves or those that run the camps andwork in them alone.

Likeseveral other German states, NRW has already taken in smallcontingents of unaccompanied children and vulnerable people from theGreek camps as well as boasting one of the greatest number of asylumseekers in Germany in 2019. According to German government statisticsfor the end of 2019, North Rhine Westphalia had a foreign populationof just over 15%, although not all of those people are asylumseekers, refugees or even recent migrants.Assessing the situation

OnAugust 3, Laschet met with Greek Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis, as well as the country's foreign minister NikosDendias. In a press release on NRW's state website, Laschet saidthat his Greek visit was to help him gain a personal understanding on thesituation in the migrant camps on Lesbos.

Followingthat meeting, Laschet stated that Europe needed to "work togetherto protect its external borders and provide humanitarian help forrefugees who arrive on the Greek islands." He said although themigrants had arrived on Greek soil they had essentially stepped on to "European soil, and so any solution to their problems had to be viaEurope too."

AlthoughLaschet called off his visit to the main camp in Moria, due to security concerns, he did visita smaller camp at Kara Tepe in Mytilene on Lesbos. This camp is thehome to those most in need of protection, including victims oftorture, people with disabilities, pregnant women, old and illpeople.During his visit, accordingto his press statement, Laschet also plans to meet with teams fromFrontex and the mayor of Mytilene before leaving the island. Whilston the island, Laschet reiterated his state's intention to take inmore children in need of protection and their closest family members "in the coming weeks."

He saidthat although Germany was also busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic inthe camps in Greece the virus had "another meaning entirely."Laschet noted that many of the camps' inhabitants were unable to leavethe camps freely because of the virus and that made many migrantsfeel they were living in a hopeless situation with "noperspective."

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Leading German politician visits Greek migrant camp and tells the EU to 'wake up' - InfoMigrants