GETTY George Soros has said Europe is on the 'verge of collapse'

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Billionaire philanthropist George Soros accused Brussels chiefs of trying to "muddle through" the current refugee chaos, saying their confused response is the equivalent to "kicking a ball uphill so that it keeps rolling back down". The Hungarian financier, who is one of the world's 30 richest men, predicted that the EU will not survive much longer unless the German people accept their "responsibility" to take in unlimited numbers of migrants from the Middle East.

The comments are likely to cause anger in Germany, which is reeling from a series of depraved refugee sex attacks after taking in more than 1.1 million people in the last year alone. Angela Merkel's much-criticised open door immigration policy has been savaged in the aftermath of the Cologne attacks, but Mr Soros insisted she is the only one to have shown leadership in response to the unstoppable flow of people crossing into the continent.

GETTY Mr Soros said Germany must shoulder its responsibility towards refugees

GETTY More than a million migrants arrived in Europe last year

He told the New York Review of Books: "There is plenty to be nervous about. As she [Merkel] correctly predicted, the EU is on the verge of collapse. The Greek crisis taught the European authorities the art of muddling through one crisis after another. "This practice is popularly known as kicking the can down the road, although it would be more accurate to describe it as kicking a ball uphill so that it keeps rolling back down. "Merkel correctly foresaw the potential of the migration crisis to destroy the European Union. What was a prediction has become the reality. The European Union badly needs fixing. "This is a fact but it is not irreversible. And the people who can stop Merkel's dire prediction from coming true are actually the German people. "Now it's time for Germans to decide. Do they want to accept the responsibilities and the liabilities involved in being the dominant power in Europe?"

GETTY The billionaire financier praised Angela Merkel for her open door policy

GETTY If EU leaders continue to dither, the EU could soon cease to exist

The EU is on the verge of collapse Billionaire financier George Soros

The billionaire banker's comments came amid confusion and chaos over Europe's response to the migrant crisis, which shows no sign of abating. A much-vaunted relocation scheme has been plunged into chaos by member states refusing to take on their responsibilities, whilst the Schengen free-movement zone is close to collapse after Austria pulled out, with other countries threatening to follow suit. This week Finland's finance minister, Alex Stubb, said that the whole principle of the EU would be under dire threat if the Schengen agreement implodes. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos he told CNBC that Germany's open door policy on migrants was, "humane, that was probably the right thing to do at the time".