Swiss to take refugees under EU distribution program

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will accept up to 1,500 asylum seekers registered in Italy and Greece under the European Union's July program to distribute 40,000 people in need as long as the Dublin system of handling refugees remains intact, the government said on Friday. Neutral Switzerland, which has taken in only a fraction of the migrants trekking north from the Middle East and Africa, also committed to increasing by 70 million Swiss francs ($73.3 million) its aid earmarked for people affected by crises in Syria, Iraq and the horn of Africa. President Simonetta Sommaruga said Swiss authorities did not expect a wave of migrants would be diverted from other countries along the migrants' route. She said border guards were prepared to step up spot checks if needed. "But we have no need for systematic border controls at this stage," she said. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Larry King)