The mood of European immigrants has changed, perhaps decisively. Whether it is the Greek maritime border in the Aegean Sea, the Polish-Belarusian border or the strait, obstacles are increasing, whether physical or otherwise. With strong public support, the general sentiment among politicians is to keep people out.
In the foreseeable future, it is impossible for any national leader to provide an open border policy like Angela Merkel did in 2015.
In October, the interior ministers of 12 EU countries, including Poland, Greece and Denmark, called on the EU to pay for actual border barriers in response to EU neighbors’ efforts to weaponize immigrants.
The letter to the committee is not signed by Germany, France, Spain, or Italy, but it may be supported by the majority of voters in these countries.
The letter proposes to use “physical barriers” as “an effective border measure that serves the interests of the entire EU, not just the first member states to arrive”, and adds that “this legal measure should be provided by the EU budget in addition to sufficient Funding because of a priority.”
In recent months, Lithuania and Latvia have established their own border barriers.
These restrictions are probably just the beginning. Most voters in Europe want to strengthen border controls and boycotts, and maritime patrols to redirect ships back to where they came from are popular.
At the same time, the socially democratic and progressive Denmark is leading the way in seeking to outsource asylum applications to African countries including Rwanda.
The EU’s vulnerability in weaponizing immigration has been exposed this year. Turkey, Belarus, and Russia have shown their willingness to open their borders, and Morocco, as an official ally of the European Union, also demonstrated its strength by opening its borders with Spain a few months ago.
Elsewhere, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose Brexit is increasingly embarrassed, may adopt a fortress approach. France and the United Kingdom have been arguing over the issue of fishing permits, and they believe that the immigration ship is each other’s issue.
The 27-person ship capsized while trying to cross the English Channel, causing the area to become a cemetery like the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
For many years, much of this confusion was due to Europe’s failure to agree on a common immigration and asylum policy. The European Commission insists that its budget cannot be used to build the border wall. With regard to broader immigration policy issues, the European Union’s executive agencies are at the mercy of its divided member states.
The problem is that, by definition, an obstacle is a blunt instrument. A large number of immigrants and asylums were caused by wars and natural disasters. By the way, several European countries participated in the creation.
If people desperately cross thousands of kilometers on a dangerous and expensive journey, they will not be intimidated by border walls or resistance.
The question we want to ask is, when our ocean is blocked by dead bodies, do we really have stomachs and stone hearts to simply shrug our shoulders?
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Summary
European Commission President Ursula von der Lein said on Friday that due to growing concerns about the new variant of COVID-19 discovered in South Africa, the EU’s goal is to stop air travel from southern Africa.this Belgium confirms first South African variant Soon after.
As the dust settled at the COP26 climate summit, many people began to wonder whether the high-profile promises made in Glasgow would have any real impact on global warming. Look at this infographic Explanation and details.
The French government is considering Does not support the French color-coded nutrition label Nutri-score According to the Italian Minister of Agriculture, as a new EU-wide food labelling program.
The next German government will introduce mandatory livestock labeling and Modify the allocation of EU agricultural subsidies, According to the alliance agreement reached by the three parties on Wednesday.
If you are interested in Berlin’s digitalization plan, please check Our podcastTon.And our weekly Digital Introduction Bringing you all the technical, digital and media news from all over Europe.
Greater deep-sea economic activity Increase the risk of injury The European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius (Virginijus Sinkevičius) stated that ammunition and chemical weapons dumped into European waters during the First and Second World Wars.
The European Parliament approved the 2022 budget, Provide a 100 million euro boost for the EU’s research programThis gave agricultural stakeholders a sigh of relief, who had previously warned that cuts in funding would have an impact on the sector’s sustainable development goals.
As European governments Urge their citizens to leave Ethiopia With the expulsion of important diplomats, the EU is increasingly worried that the escalating internal conflicts there may completely disintegrate the country.
Pay close attention, watch out, watch out…
- Committee Chairman Ursula von der Lein and NATO Chairman Jens Stoltenberg traveled to Latvia on Sunday to discuss the situation in Belarus.
- Commissioner Didier Reynders attended the EU-Africa Business Summit via video conference on Monday.
The opinions are those of the author.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
