Europe |
Charlemagne
A new migration crisis is brewing in Europe
Prepare for populists offering bad solutions
More migrants will undoubtedly land on Europe's
shores, and with them more such tensions. Afghans and Syrians are still fleeing
desperate situations in their countries. Joining them are Asians and Africans
who have fallen into poverty because of soaring food and fuel prices, both
linked to the war in Ukraine.
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Nov 17th
2022
Lovely
place, Belgrade. The Serbian capital attracts many tourists from far and wide,
there to enjoy its diverse architecture and meat-heavy cuisine. One recent
batch of arrivals has raised eyebrows, however. Few would have expected
citizens of Burundi, the poorest country in the world, to plump for a Balkan
holiday. And yet thousands have flown there since Serbia announced in 2018 that
Burundians could visit without a visa—a rare privilege for Africans travelling
to Europe. To nobody’s surprise the unexpected tourists were not there to
admire Belgrade’s fine opera house. The European Union’s border force has
reported a surge of Burundians arriving illegally in the bloc, bits of which
border Serbia (as people-smugglers charging $3,000 a head to cross that border
well know). Authorities in Belgrade, which had nixed visa requirements for
Burundi as thanks for it withdrawing diplomatic recognition of neighbouring
Kosovo, are in the process of closing the loophole after the eu threatened to
make it harder for Serbians themselves to enter.
Burundian
fake tourists are not the only ones trying for a better life in Europe. Illegal
entries into the eu have surged of late. Some 281,000 have been logged since
the start of the year, up by 77% since 2021. The latest available figures show
that in August alone some 84,500 asylum applications were lodged in the eu and
its neighbours (this excludes Ukrainians, who need not apply for asylum to live
in the eu for up to three years). That is the most in any month since a wave of
arrivals in 2015-16 caused a migration crisis that roiled the continent. ( …)
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