Justice, Commission, and Parliament have had very little say in it as European state actors have been allowed to adopt and enforce immigration rules and policies as they see fit.
As such, there is no ‘harmonised’ EU immigration policy – and it is hard to see one developing in the near future as Europe shows little interest in moving in the direction of a federal state.
Thus, a nation like Slovakia, a member of the European Union, the eurozone and the Schengen area, has openly stated, and with no apparent shame, that it will accept 200 Syrian refugees as a sign of solidarity with other EU member states but only on the condition that they are Christians.
By the same token, Hungary is building a wall along the Serbian border to keep refugees out. In fact, the Hungarian parliament passed a law recently that gives border officials the power to turn away migrants coming from the Middle East.
The immigration policies adopted by countries like Slovakia and Hungary clearly violate human rights and are driven by racist notions of national homogeneity; yet the current EU regime can do nothing about it.
Indeed, national resistance to a ‘harmonised’ EU immigration policy is a direct result of the failure of the European integration process to move beyond mainly economic and trade policies for the benefit of the business environment of Europe.
At the same time, it needs to be pointed out that, because of globalisation, there has been a certain loss of state control over immigration, a development which complicates even further the whole issue of illegal vs legal immigration.
To be sure, the flow of illegal labour into European societies does depress local wages, thus enhancing in turn racism and xenophobia. Hence, all of the above realities mandate that the EU takes a giant step forward by embracing the federal idea.
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted last week, immigration will shape the image and the future of Europe in this decade. However, the sight of people drowning in the Mediterranean, while shocking and abominable, is not a new phenomenon. It is estimated that more than 20,000 people have died since 1998 in their attempt to enter Europe.
But let’s put into context today’s so-called ‘migration crisis’. The hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who are trying to find their way to Europe are fleeing from war-torn countries, courtesy of the policies of the US and its allies.
German weapons are being used extensively today in places like Libya and Syria, yet Germany feels no obligation to adopt a more relaxed attitude towards migrants from those countries.
Of course, this is not to suggest that the solution to migration is a Europe with open borders. But at the present juncture, the absence of a ‘harmonised’ EU immigration policy is a disaster in more ways than one: With the immigration phenomenon resting entirely in the hands of an international network of criminals, distinguishing legitimate asylum seekers from terrorists is nearly impossible to ascertain.
The solution to Europe’s refugee crisis necessitates the adoption of a ‘harmonised’ EU migration policy that takes into account both the needs of refugees and those of member states.
A solution to Europe’s refugee crisis also requires an active foreign policy on the part of the EU which seeks to stabilise, rather than destabilise, the countries and the regions from which migrants flee.
Without these steps taken, Europe’s chaotic situation with refugees will continue for the indefinite future (environmental refugees may soon become the next migration wave), with fragmented implosion being most likely Europe’s own future.
This article originally appeared as: ‘Refugee crisis exposes massive flaws in EU governance’.
Courtesy: Aljazeera.com