Quotas for refugees could help European Union member states win public support for programmes to aid the millions of people across the world who are fleeing persecution, Sweden said on Saturday. Sweden said it was taking part in a U.N. scheme which has helped it to counter the anti-immigration sentiment that has been rising in Europe, where citizens are worried about economic migrants abusing asylum regulations. "One experience we have from Sweden...is that when you talk of (refugee) quotas there is very strong public support...(for) helping people who are really in need," Swedish Migration and Asylum Minister Barbro Holmberg told reporters. Sweden is one of only seven European states currently participating in the programme backed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which aims to resettle refugees from camps in Asia and Africa to Western countries. "Here in Europe, where we have great problems in the asylum systems (and) with illegal migration, it is very important to gather the public support there is, otherwise we risk strong social tensions," Holmberg said at a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers.
