What a miserable spectacle. There was never going to be an easy solution to Europe’s worst refugee crisis for 70 years. The EU has somehow contrived to make itself part of the problem.
The vast, sprawling 28-nation European Union is, it seems, neither European enough nor sufficiently united to live up to its humanitarian ideals or political ambitions. One of its greatest achievements, the border-free continent, is in danger of being swept away by a tide of suffering humanity.
Let us not exaggerate, however. Let us not be shocked that EU governments find it difficult to decide how to respond to an unstoppable flood of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Every country in Europe is similarly divided. Many individuals also find themselves torn between a simple, generous, human impulse to help; and fear of the economic and political consequences of allowing mass immigration.
The differences exposed at the meeting of justice and interior ministers in Brussels on Monday were as predictable as they were poisonous. The Eastern European countries are wrong to believe that they should somehow be excused all conscience and solidarity because they are relatively poor and comparatively mono-racial.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was wrong to declare unilaterally open house for refugees in Germany without considering the practical implications for Europe’s open borders and her own country’s capacity to withstand the resulting tidal bore of refugees. Germany is also wrong to threaten financial retribution against Eastern Europe: a bullying proposal which could split the EU irrevocably. David Cameron is wrong to believe that his own minimal plans, to take 20,000 Syrians from the Middle East over five years, excuse Britain from all responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of refugees already in Europe.
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The proposals put before EU governments on Monday were flawed but broadly sensible. It should be remembered that an overwhelming majority of EU governments supported them. Refugees already in Europe would be shared out between all countries who take part in the joint EU migration policy. Britain does not take part, so we are excused politically, though not morally. The Eastern European countries would be asked to take only a token number of refugees.
Tougher rules would be applied to economic migrants or self-proclaimed refugees from countries where there is no acute conflict. There would be more EU-wide support for the countries on the front line of the refugee crisis, such as Italy, Greece and Hungary. The EU “common” external border would be reinforced.
In graphics: Refugees in the EU
The EU would set up camps to process would-be asylum-seekers at “hotspots” on the borders of Europe – sorting genuine refugees from less genuine cases. Those accepted would be allocated a host country and would be obliged to go there and stay – although how that would be enforced in a border-free Europe remains unclear.
The proposals will, in theory, go before EU justice and interior ministers again early next month. Germany and Austria have called for a summit of heads of government next week.
It is criminally absurd that such a meeting has not already happened. In the history of the EU, no deep crisis has ever been resolved by ministerial meetings alone. It has always needed a leaders’ summit (and sometimes several). There is no guarantee that such a summit would succeed. Its chances would be improved if Mr Cameron stopped giving de facto backing to the intransigence of the East Europeans. The EU still has an opportunity to prove its worth. A leap of political courage is needed by all 28 leaders.
