Jordan's Queen Rania has used a speech in Berlin today to call upon Europe to help more Syrian refugees - and not to 'bolt the door for fear of the unknown'.

The 45-year-old was speaking at the Federal Foreign Office in front of an audience of 400 politicians and diplomats - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel - and was presented with the Walther Rathenau prize.

Accepting the award, which is given for outstanding work in foreign affairs, she spoke of Jordan's contribution to dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis and called for 'exceptional solutions' to what she described as 'a crisis of exceptional magnitude'.

Don't bolt the door: Jordan's Queen Rania called for 'exceptional solutions' to the refugee crisis

The royal, who has consistently spoken out about the perils of extremism, also warned that refusing to help could lead to a 'disillusioned generation' who would prove easy prey for terrorist recruiters.

'Denying refugees their basic rights risks creating a defeated and disillusioned generation,' she said, 'who, at their most desperate, could be susceptible to extremists' ideology.'

Jordan is currently home to an estimated 1.4 million refugees - 20 per cent of the country's population - many of whom are living in camps close to the Middle Eastern country's northern border.

Europe has seen an estimated 350,000 migrants, many refugees from Syria, arrive within the last six months alone, while Germany says it expects to take in close to a million new arrivals this year.

Praising her hosts' efforts, Queen Rania, who earlier thanked Chancellor Merkel for her 'inspirational leadership', added:

'They [the German people] are imagining what the refugees have endured and what they have lost.

'How exhausted they must be after long and dangerous journeys. They are imagining the anxiety of a mother clutching her baby. Or the bewilderment of a grandfather who doesn't speak German.

Prize: The royal was in Berlin to accept the Walther Rathenau prize, named for the Foreign Minister who served in the German Weimar Republic in the 1920s, and made her speech in front of an audience of 400 diplomats

Inspiring: She also used the occasion to praise Germany's Angela Merkel for her 'inspirational' leadership

New arrivals: This group of refugees are pictured resting in a former factory after arriving from Austria today

'And by thinking themselves into the minds of those Syrians, the instinct to help took over. It’s basic human decency.'

But she also spoke of her concern about the increasing interchangeability of the words 'migrant' and 'refugee' and said doing so is fueling extremism.

'Rather than evoke an unprecedented tide of human kindness, some segments of society have, instead, unleashed a new and ugly lexicon in our news-feeds,' she said.

'Where once the word refugee rightly aroused feelings of empathy and compassion, now, refugees and migrants have been merged.

'Stripped of their true definitions, they are referred to with blunt pejoratives, as if some lives have lesser value than others. Invaders. Marauding foreigners. And worse.

'That is the real danger. That, over time, labels obscure a person’s humanity, and allow suspicion to creep in and intolerance to build.

'Fear to take root and walls to go up. Each sideways glance, each derogatory comment, each label… eroding our most precious commodity: basic human decency.'

Instead, she said, the world must 'follow the example' of her late father-in-law King Hussein of Jordan who insisted that the country become a haven to those who need it.

Terrifying: Refugees are helped ashore by locals after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos this morning

Throng: A group of refugees, thought to number 2,000, cross the Croatian border earlier today

Welcome: Germany's Chancellor Merkel has called for EU countries to accept a refugee quota and threw open Germany's borders two weeks ago before slamming them shut after being overwhelmed by huge numbers

Responsibilities: Angela Merkel's Germany expects to take around a million refugees this year, while Queen Rania's Jordan is already home to 1.4 million

She also called upon those living in countries such as the UK, which is refusing to accept the European Union's plans for a quota, to try not to see those arriving as 'a threat' and instead 'show compassion and courage alongside pragmatism'.

'Many, not unreasonably, may see refugees landing at their shores as strangers. Destitute people from a different country, who speak a different language and follow a different faith.

'For some, they may seem more than just strangers but rather threats. Threats to their beliefs and way of life and a strain on their economy and social services.

'Maybe even a risk to their security. Their instinct may be to bolt the door, not out of malice but out of fear of the unknown.'

Instead, she continued, people should understand that what refugees want more than anything is shelter, safety and peace 'because those are the very things they were denied in the countries from which they came'.

'We face a crisis of exceptional magnitude,' she added. 'One that demands exceptional solutions. Piecemeal measures won’t work.

'It’s not about whether nations should accept refugees or which nations should accept refugees but, rather, a collective response.

'The alternative serves the interest of no-one. To do nothing would be an unforgivable failure that calls into question the very phrase "global family".'

Her words echo comments made by the royal earlier this week during an interview with UK TV channel Sky News during which she said Jordan needs more help to deal with refugees.

Of the 1.4 million newcomers to Jordan, an estimated 630,000 are registered refugees - mostly from Syria but also Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.