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(….) “Skeptics say the
plan is likely unworkable for both legal and political reasons. The
Commission has suggested the force could be even deployed against the
objections of a member country.
“The reality is that this
isn’t a European border patrol and coast guard but a paper tiger,”
said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute in
Washington. “It doesn’t have a realistic chance of working in the
real world.”
|
Leaders
scramble to salvage EU solidarity
Refugee
crisis exposes continental divisions, which the summit won’t
resolve.
By MATTHEW
KARNITSCHNIG 12/16/15, 8:20 PM CET
BERLIN — European
leaders converge in Brussels Thursday for an end-of-year summit meant
to reinforce a union cracking under a refugee crisis that has laid
bare the limits of the bloc’s solidarity.
Instead of achieving
reconciliation, however, the summit is more likely to expose the
depths of the Continent’s divisions, as a growing faction of
leaders resists sacrificing national sovereignty in the name of EU
unity.
When leaders gather
for their traditional Thursday evening supper, they are expected to
discuss everything from Britain’s reform proposals for the EU to
the region’s planned energy union.
Yet the refugee
crisis, which has forced members to confront uncomfortable questions
about their commitment to European principles, will dominate the
agenda.
“We have arrived
at the end of a turbulent and very difficult year for Europe,”
Angela Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament Wednesday
afternoon.
“We’ve been
forced to witness Europe’s solidarity repeatedly being put to the
test.”
While Merkel may be
regarded as the EU’s dominant political figure, Europe has become
increasingly treacherous terrain for the German chancellor. If the
Greek crisis illustrated the extent of Germany’s economic dominance
of Europe under Merkel, the refugee crisis has shown the limits of
its political sway.
“Clearly
the Council is not going to achieve a breakthrough”
Time and again,
Merkel, who has staked her legacy on resolving the cascade of
challenges presented by the refugee crisis, has repeated the
imperative that other countries share the burden. For the most part,
her calls have been ignored.
In recent days
Merkel has managed to win back confidence for her refugee strategy in
Germany. By pursuing a range of initiatives, from new ID cards for
refugees to plans for an EU border patrol, she has restored some
confidence in her government’s ability to manage the crisis. Still,
if Germany’s European allies don’t offer Berlin more help soon,
Merkel will find herself under renewed pressure.
Unlike European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament
President Martin Schulz, Merkel has refrained from warning of
Europe’s demise, emphasizing instead the importance of Europe to
Germany.
Her allies say it is
not that she isn’t worried about Europe’s future, but that she
doesn’t want to be blamed if it falls apart.
After months of
trying to prod the rest of Europe into action, Merkel appears to have
recognized that her colleagues are unlikely to offer little more than
lip service to tackle the refugee crisis.
“Clearly the
Council is not going to achieve a breakthrough,” Merkel said, using
the formal term for the leaders’ gathering.
The European
Commission estimates that about 1.5 million refugees have arrived in
Europe so far this year. Germany has taken in about 1 million.
Berlin led a push
earlier in the fall to allocate about 160,000 of the arrivals across
the EU. While that number represents only a fraction of the refugees
Germany has taken in, Berlin was keen to show the German public that
other countries were willing to share the responsibility.
Even though other EU
members eventually agreed to participate, they have since accepted
only a fraction of their contingents.
All told, less than
200 refugees have been relocated under the program.
Europe’s only
common response to the refugee crisis has been to reinforce border
controls, raising questions about the viability of the Schengen
treaty, which allows for borderless travel across most of the region.
The moves have
spooked those countries that have gained most from the open
frontiers, in particular those in Eastern Europe. Czech Prime
Minister Bohuslav Sobotka wrote to fellow EU leaders this week urging
them to take steps to save the Schengen agreement.
Even as they push to
preserve the EU’s open borders, the Czech Republic and other
eastern member countries have been the most vociferous in resisting
refugees, citing cultural differences and fears of terrorism.
On Tuesday, the
Commission presented a proposal for a 1,500-strong rapid reaction
force to secure the EU’s external borders.
Germany and France
both endorse the idea.
“The
reality is that this isn’t a European border patrol and coast guard
but a paper tiger.”
Manfred Weber, who
heads the center-right European People’s Party in the European
Parliament, called on EU states to embrace a joint border patrol.
“That means EU
officials will be posted on the external borders with the European
flag on their arm, patrolling in the name of Europe,” he told
German radio. “National sovereignty is no longer being defended on
any external border, rather Europe is being protected.”
While few in Europe
question the importance of securing the EU’s borders, a number of
countries, including Poland and Greece, have raised concerns about
the implications of the plan on national sovereignty.
Skeptics say the
plan is likely unworkable for both legal and political reasons. The
Commission has suggested the force could be even deployed against the
objections of a member country.
“The reality is
that this isn’t a European border patrol and coast guard but a
paper tiger,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the
Peterson Institute in Washington. “It doesn’t have a realistic
chance of working in the real world.”
Kirkegaard points
out that previous EU plans to beef up Frontex, its border service,
have fallen short.
One prominent
initiative involves so-called “hotspots,” registration centers
for refugees in Greece and Italy. The plan is for the centers, once
they are up and running, to register refugees and allocate them
across the EU.
Greece, the entry
point for the vast majority of Syrian refugees, agreed to set up five
hotspots but so far only has one.
The project has
suffered from inadequate funding and a refusal by other EU countries
to take in the arrivals. Instead, Greece simply points the refugees
toward Germany.
Such failures help
explain why Merkel has pursued other solutions. She spearheaded
Europe’s deal with Turkey, for example. Most refugees pass through
Turkey en route to Europe. In exchange for helping stem the flow,
Turkey will receive about €3 billion in EU aid.
Early indications
suggest that agreement has paid off. Illegal border crossings fell to
just over 9,000 last week from over 52,000 in late October. Whether
the decline is the result of inclement weather, Turkish enforcement
of its border, or a combination is unclear. Whatever the case, the
slowdown takes some pressure off European leaders to act.
Juncker, ruminating
on the crisis during a speech to the European Parliament on
Wednesday, expressed confidence that members would eventually rise to
the occasion.
“Always when we’ve
faced problems, men and women stood up who wanted to shape history
instead of just letting history happen,” he said.
Juncker:
‘Schengen is here to stay’
Commission
president says new border plan is crucial to defend passport-free
zone.
By EMMET LIVINGSTONE
12/16/15, 2:12 PM CET Updated 12/16/15, 5:15 PM CET
STRASBOURG —
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the Parliament
Wednesday that the Schengen area will be protected, tying his new
proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard to the survival of the
passport-free zone.
Juncker addressed
the Parliament ahead of a summit of EU leaders this week, at which
national governments will discuss the plans for beefed-up border
controls, which are already proving controversial.
“We want to defend
everything that Schengen represents,” Juncker said. “As we
prepare for a new year, our determination is stronger than ever. Let
me tell you, Schengen is here to stay.”
The Commission
unveiled its plan Tuesday, with measures to create a revamped border
control agency and mandate systematic checks on everyone entering the
EU through an external frontier. It is also proposing “targeted
revisions” of the Schengen Border Code so that EU nationals will be
subject to the same checks.
“These are the
costs of a riskier world and we cannot avoid them,” said Juncker of
the proposed rules.
Belgian MEP Guy
Verhofstadt, the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
Europe group in the Parliament, defended the border plan. “Without
it, Schengen is finished,” he said, adding that EU countries that
rejected the plan should be ejected from Schengen.
The Commission’s
border proposal has already drawn criticism from some national
governments and skeptical MEPs who worry about infringements on
national sovereignty. If the proposal goes ahead, the Commission will
be able to deploy the European Border and Coast Guard in emergencies
without a country’s explicit request.
“Another European
summit, another European power grab,” said UKIP MEP Nigel Farage.
Others were more
positive. Portuguese European People’s Party MEP Paulo Rangel said
Juncker’s position on defending Schengen with new border rules was
“as important as when [European Central Bank President Mario]
Draghi said he wouldn’t let the euro disappear.”
Some MEPs agreed
with the proposal in principle but questioned the merits of proposing
it in the face of likely opposition from some countries in the
Council.
Commission Vice
President Frans Timmermans said bickering over narrow national
interests was a step back in time, and said integration in times of
crisis was especially crucial given the history of devastating wars
in Europe.
“That is the
spirit with which the Commission has made these proposals,”
Timmermans said. “Are these proposals perfect? I’m not saying
they are.”
Added Juncker, “The
impossible seems impossible until it has been done.”
Authors:
Emmet Livingstone
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