GETTY•GETTY Mr Tusk said the current crisis is a result of an 'exodus' that will last for years

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Donald Tusk said it is part of an "exodus" that will not instantly disappear. Speaking at the Bruegel Institute, a Brussels think-tank, he said: "The present wave of migration is not a one-time incident but the beginning of a real exodus, which only means that we will have to deal with this problem for many years to come." The bureaucrat said it is imperative for EU nations to bear the brunt of the current crisis together "without blaming each other".

Let us have no illusions that we have a silver bullet to reverse the situation Donald Tusk

Mr Tusk added: "But let us have no illusions that we have a silver bullet to reverse the situation." EU leaders are scrambling to find solutions to the situation - while thousands of migrants flee war-torn countries like Syria and head across the Mediterranean for Europe. But the leader called on member states to cast aside their differences over the wave of migrants and told them not to "feel ashamed of our emotions". He said: "Compassion is one of the foundations of solidarity, but in order to be able to help others we ourselves must be pragmatic at the same time." EU leaders are embroiled in a heated debate over where to distribute the waves of refugees seeking asylum in Europe. David Cameron offered to take in up to 20,000 Syrian migrants over the next four years after tragic pictures of a drowned toddler refugee emerged last week.

GETTY Cameron offered Britain will take in 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next four years