Europe summoned to move forward or to break down?

(B2) Will Europeans be able to emerge from the top of the refugee and migrant crisis it is facing? This is the whole point of the meetings of the coming weeks.

The migrant and refugee crisis that has erupted in Europe should not be seen as an epiphenomenon or a mere crisis. It reveals fractures that we thought we had forgotten within the 28 which raise fears about European construction. Admittedly, European negotiations obey a certain ritual which generally takes place in three fairly ritual phases. First of all, some countries pose a problem that others ignore. Then come loud cries saying that we will not change our position, that she is " assets ". And, finally, a compromise arises, which may sometimes appear wobbly but is acceptable to all.

Today, this well-oiled mechanism seems a little broken. There are multiple reasons. The management of refugees affects sensitive values ​​in many countries: citizenship, human rights, security, and finally the very notion of a sovereign state are in question. The economic crisis, the withdrawal into oneself operated by several governments which face extreme or populist movements weigh. The invectives sent from both sides – Hungary accused of being a totalitarian country or Germany of being inconsistent – ​​did not help to defuse the atmosphere. On the contrary. But, above all, this crisis reveals a serious lack of appetite to resolve the crisis together. Which is worrying.

The measures taken by many European leaders in Berlin as in Budapest or Copenhagen, have an air of disorderly reaction, of panic fear, and ultimately of powerlessness to act together. The temporary closure of borders is not prohibited by the Schengen system. This is even a possibility expressly provided for in the agreements signed 30 years ago, and now incorporated into European law. But, unexplained, they otherwise sound like a breach in solidarity, in the free movement of people, and ultimately in a questioning of European achievements and values. " These attitudes do incalculable harm to Europe's reputation and morality and to its discourse of values ​​in the world.", underlines Shada Islam who heads the "Friends of Europe", a pro-European think-tank dedicated to security issues, " particularly at a time when the majority of the world's refugees are, in fact, safe in the developing world.

It is not for lack of having been warned, however. Almost two years ago, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his Foreign Minister sounded the alarm and demanded drastic measures. But European leaders have played the ostrich. Today they are overtaken by urgency. " We're in a race against time notes Claude Moraes, the British MEP, born in Aden (Yemen) and who chairs the Civil Liberties Committee in the European Parliament. " VS'is Europe's last chance to find an organized response to Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War II ».

« The Member States can no longer postpone the establishment of common control of the external borders worthy of the name, nor that of a European asylum policy “says Alain Lamassoure (LR), one of the veterans of the European Parliament (read: ). " Each European country will no longer be able to avoid the fundamental debate on its own demographic future, on its national identity, as well as on the solidarity that it is entitled to expect from all those who benefit from its citizenship or its hospitality.. In fact, Europe is faced with a dilemma: to move forward or to retreat. " Under the pressure of events, a new chapter in the history of Europe is thus opening: the Europe of the peoples “continues the MEP, former elected representative of the Basque country. " An infinitely more delicate subject than monetary Europe… ».

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

* article published in Sud-Ouest

Read also:

 

• The three hotspots of the migration crisis
• The migration crisis, a revolution in foreign policy (Alain Lamassoure)
• The Summitless Refugee Crisis (Maj)