Merkel presses for refugee response after weekend flood

Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked helpers who dealt with a "breathtaking" influx of exhausted migrants over the weekend but stressed on Monday that a European response to the refugee crisis was urgently needed.

"We have a weekend behind us that was moving, at times breathtaking," Merkel said, adding that efforts by average Germans to support thousands of arriving refugees had "painted a picture of Germany which can make us proud of our country".

She and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel noted at a news conference however, that it could not fall on a few countries in Europe to shoulder most of the burden, and both pressed for a European solution.