Europe should set a limit on the number of refugees it takes in and seek out those most clearly entitled to protection, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Standard.

In remarks published a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel, a fellow conservative, pledged to stick to her open-door refugee policy, de Maiziere said Europe should commit to “a generous concluding intake of refugees”, but did not provide a number.

“When the quota is filled, there are no further entries in the year,” he said when asked how his proposal would work. “Truly needy cases — from Syria, from Iraq — will be jointly sought out.”