First came Britain’s decision to leave the European
Union. Then the horrific attack in Nice, France, which killed 84 people. Then,
on Friday, a shooting near a shopping mall in Munich, which the police are
treating as a possible terrorist attack.
These events alone would be cause for a continental
nervous breakdown. But still unresolved is an even bigger threat to European
stability: a failure to develop a coherent, humane plan to deal with the
inexorable flow of desperate people fleeing violence and persecution in the
Middle East and Africa and seeking a new home in Europe.
Through July 17, more than 240,000 migrants and
refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, roughly
equal to last year’s crossings during the same period. Nearly 3,000 died in the
attempt, 60 percent higher than last year’s grim toll.
This is a humanitarian tragedy, arising partly from
Europe’s failure to put enough resources into rescue efforts and partly from
its failure to develop legal channels for desperate people intent on reaching
Europe. This has left them at the mercy of smugglers. To protest what it called
“shameful deterrence policies,” Doctors Without Borders announced last month that it would no
longer accept funds from the E.U. and its member states.
The group singled out
for special condemnation the deal the E.U. reached in March with Turkey, in
which the union agreed to provide more
than $6 billion to Turkey in return for Turkey’s help in stopping the flow of
migrants to Europe and for taking back those who successfully crossed the
Aegean to Greece. The group argued that this gave priority to the sanctity of
borders at the expense of humanitarian needs and sets a dangerous precedent.
Statistically, the Turkey deal appears to have paid
off; the number of migrants risking the perilous voyage from Turkey to Greece
has plummeted, according to the United Nations. But closing the Greek route has
shifted attention to the longer, more dangerous route from Libya to Italy.
Drowning deaths are inevitable, despite the best efforts of the Italian Coast
Guard and Navy to answer distress calls, as smugglers in Libya send out more
and more migrants on unseaworthy vessels.
Another part of the problem is Europe’s Dublin
Regulation, which stipulates that asylum seekers file applications in the
country of first arrival. That has put an unfair burden on Italy and Greece; a
plan to ease that burden by distributing some refugees to other nations has
foundered. New burden-sharing proposals are in the works, but they face
strenuous opposition. A proposal floated on July 10 to tempt countries to take
in refugees by offering 10,000 euros per person would require the approval of
European governments and the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, the refugee issue continues to stoke fears
and xenophobic politics. If Europe fails to face this problem squarely and
humanely, more migrants will die, and a union that has kept the peace in Europe
for decades could well unravel.
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