MIGRATION CRISIS
‘Divisions
are getting deeper’
The
Paris attacks show signs of splintering Europe’s fragile agreement
to relocate thousands of refugees.
By JACOPO BARIGAZZI
11/16/15, 8:33 PM CET Updated 11/16/15, 8:54 PM CET
The already fragile
support among EU countries for a common approach to the migration
crisis was at risk of unraveling further in the wake of the terror
attacks in Paris, diplomats said Monday.
EU foreign ministers
met in Brussels for previously scheduled talks on the Middle East and
the refugee situation, and made a public show of solidarity in
support of France.
Federica Mogherini,
the EU foreign policy chief, said after the meeting that Europe will
“take a careful look” at French President François Hollande’s
call to invoke an EU treaty provision that provides “aid and
assistance” in the event of “armed aggression” on a member
country.
But behind the
scenes diplomats said the attacks threatened to widen existing
divisions on the migration issues, and could force a rethink of plans
for a permanent system to relocate refugees from the Middle East
across Europe.
Reports that at
least one of the attackers may have entered Europe with a group of
asylum-seekers gave ammunition to several countries, such as Poland
and Hungary, that have long resisted EU mandates that they take in
refugees.
“In terms of
foreign policy the attacks have united European countries in their
battle against Muslim radicals,” one diplomat said. “But it is
internally that divisions are getting deeper.”
The European
Commission wants a system of permanent relocation of refugees, with
EU countries agreeing to take in asylum-seekers who travel from Syria
and Libya through southern Europe. Diplomats said the attacks were
undermining support for the plan, which had already been
controversial before the Paris attacks raised questions about the
flow of refugees into Europe.
“Some delegations
before the meeting were discussing possible links between migration
and terrorism, an issue that will increasingly emerge in the next
days,” one diplomat said.
“Terrorists
have exploited mass migration,” Orbán told lawmakers Monday in a
speech titled “Attack on Europe.”
Hardliners on the
issue, such as the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, made that
link openly Monday.
“In a deliberate
and organized way, terrorists have exploited mass migration by
mingling in the mass of people leaving their homes in the hope of a
better life,” Orbán told lawmakers Monday in a speech titled
“Attack on Europe.”
That echoed comments
made on Saturday by Poland’s future European affairs minister,
Konrad Szymański, who said the country would not take part in the
relocation scheme “in light of the tragic events in Paris.”
Hollande, speaking
to a joint session of the French Parliament Monday afternoon, took a
different view, saying Europe had a responsibility to welcome
refugees fleeing oppression even as he vowed to “destroy” ISIL in
retaliation for the Paris attacks. “To mix refugees and terrorism
takes us to nothing, towards chaos,” he said.
Some countries that
have been vocal opponents of a permanent mechanism for relocating
refugees, such as Lithuania, also openly rejected the possibility of
a link between terrorism and refugees.
Members of the
German government, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C),
Vice Chancellor and Economy and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel (L)
and Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere (R), sign a book of
condolences at the French Embassy in Berlin.
“We cannot link
refugees to terrorism,” the country’s foreign minister, Linas
Linkevicius, told reporters before the Monday’s meeting.
Italian Foreign
Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters after leaving the meeting:
“In today’s discussion everybody agreed that there are
differences in migration policies but everybody also agreed that no
one can accept a link between terrorist acts and migration.”
The debate is likely
to heat up before an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers set
to take place on Friday. The relocation issue will be on the agenda,
as will the future of the Schengen agreement on passport-free travel
in Europe — which is also being questioned after Paris.
During their talks
on Monday, EU foreign ministers focused on agreeing a common approach
to finding a political solution in Syria and the Middle East
generally.
They also discussed
the the outcome of last week’s Valletta summit on implementing
migration policies, where a possible deal with Turkey on controlling
the flow of refugees was discussed.
On that score
ministers were happy with the steps forward made by the Commission,
according to one diplomat, who added however that some countries
stressed that the EU cannot approach Turkey only from the point of
view of migration if it wants to avoid depending on Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to stem the flow.
EU cooperation with
Turkey should not focus only on migration but it should have
“multiple dimensions,” Mogherini told reporters after the
meeting.
Following the Paris
attacks, France launched air strikes against the ISIL positions in
the Syrian city of Raqqa.
But after their
meeting Monday, EU foreign ministers reiterated their support for
continuing diplomatic efforts they say have made progress in recent
months, including in talks in Vienna over the weekend.
In Vienna, the U.S.,
Russia and the EU set a target date of January 1, 2016, for formal
negotiations to start between the Assad regime and the opposition.
The aim is to achieve a ceasefire that does not apply to the
intensifying fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State,
Mogherini said.
But divisions remain
inside and outside the bloc on that issue, too. France has been
pushing for the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to leave in the
transition process, while Germany had a softer approach.
“We have to speak
with many actors, this includes Assad, but others as well,” German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said in September.
Authors:
Jacopo Barigazzi
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