In her press conference on August 31, 2015, Chancellor Merkel spoke at length about the refugee movements triggered by violence and armed conflicts, particularly in Syria, but also in Afghanistan, Iraq and North Africa. At the same time, an increasing number of economic migrants, particularly from Albania and Kosovo, were moving to the West. Both of these factors put the EU member states to a tough political test. Merkel justifies her decision to accept refugees, even if they had passed through so-called safe third countries, with two principles enshrined in the Basic Law: the right to asylum and the protection of human dignity. In 2015 and 2016, 1.1 million people applied for asylum in Germany. Merkel's famous phrase “We can do it” [Wir schaffen das] was intended to encourage the German population to see the immigration and integration of asylum seekers as another historic challenge that the country could certainly overcome given its prosperity and demographic situation.