The Netherlands has a tough task ahead when it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on January 1 for six months, the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.

Speaking after talks with Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders in The Hague, Mogherini said the Dutch presidency will be ‘crucial’ because of all the problems ‘such as refugees and terrorism’ which the EU is now dealing with.

‘A pragmatic and concrete approach is needed,’ she is quoted as saying by the Telegraaf. ‘We expect and are counting on a strong Dutch role in these difficult times. The migration issue has been around for years but for too long has not been recognised as a communal European problem.’

At the end of last month, prime minister Mark Rutte and finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem both warned in separate interviews about the impact of Europe’s failure to properly secure its borders.

Rutte said in an interview with the Financial Times that the same fate awaits Europe as Rome if it does not take action to stop the ‘massive influx’ of people from the Middle East and central Asia.