Angela Merkel clashed with Austria’s chancellor at their first meeting yesterday when she insisted that it was wrong for EU nations not to take their share of refugees.

Sebastian Kurz, 31, the world’s youngest elected leader, told a joint press conference in Berlin that the debate about mandatory migrant quotas “took up too much space”, The Times reports.

‘I’m convinced that the solution to the migrant problem lies with decent border protection and stronger help in countries of origin,’ Kurz told reporters after he was received in Berlin with military honours.