The Refugee Crisis

38.1.5: The Refugee Crisis

As millions of refugees escape wars and persecution in their home countries and flee to Europe, both the European Union and the larger European community have been testing the limits of integration and solidarity as some countries accept— and others refuse— the responsibility to deal with the crisis.

Learning Objective

Discuss the origins and scope of the current refugee crisis

Key Points

  • Movement across Europe is largely regulated by the Schengen Agreement, by which 26 countries formed an area where border checks between the member states are abolished and checks are restricted to the external Schengen borders. Carriers that transport people into the Schengen area are, if they transport people who are refused entry, responsible to pay for the return of the refused people and additional penalties. Many migrants attempt to travel illegally. Those who have basis to seek asylum in the EU face the rules of the Dublin Regulation, which determines the EU member state responsible for examining an asylum application.
  • According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reached 59.5 million in 2014, which includes 19.5 million refugees and 1.8 million asylum seekers. Among them, Syrian refugees became the largest group in 2014. Developing nations, not Western countries, hosted the largest share of refugees (86% by the end of 2014). Most of the people arriving in Europe in 2015 were leeing war and persecution in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Eritrea. Wars fueling the crisis are the Syrian Civil War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, the War in Somalia, and the War in Darfur.
  • Amid an upsurge in the number of sea arrivals in Italy from Libya in 2014, several European Union governments refused to fund the Italian-run rescue option Operation Mare Nostrum, which was replaced by Frontex’s Operation Triton. The latter involves voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations. The Italian government requested additional funds from the other EU member states, but they did not offer the requested support. In 2015, Greece overtook Italy as the first EU country of arrival, becoming the starting point of a flow of refugees and migrants moving to northern European countries, mainly Germany and Sweden.
  • Since April 2015, the European Union has struggled to cope with the crisis, increasing funding for border patrol operations in the Mediterranean, devising plans to fight migrant smuggling, launching Operation Sophia with the aim of neutralizing established refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean, and proposing a new quota system to relocate asylum seekers among EU states.
  • Individual countries have at times reintroduced border controls within the Schengen area and rifts have emerged between countries willing to allow entry of asylum seekers for processing of refugee claims and those trying to discourage their entry for processing. Germany, Hungary, Sweden, and Austria received around two-thirds of the EU’s asylum applications in 2015, with Hungary, Sweden, and Austria the top recipients per capita. Germany has been the most sought-after final destination in the EU migrant and refugee crisis.
  • The escalation of shipwrecks of migrant boats in the Mediterranean in 2015 led European Union leaders to reconsider their policies on border control and processing of migrants. The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed to distribute 160,000 asylum seekers among EU states under a new migrant quota system. By September 2016, the quota system proposed by EU was abandoned after resistance by Visegrad Group countries. The refugee crisis also fueled nationalist sentiments across Europe and the appeal of politicians who oppose the idea of European integration.

Key Terms

refugee
Legally, a person who has left his or her country of origin because of well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is unable to return or avail themselves of that country’s protection.
Operation Triton
A border security operation conducted by Frontex, the European Union’s border security agency. The operation, under Italian control, began in 2014 and involves voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations (both EU member states and non-members). It was undertaken after Italy ended Operation Mare Nostrum, which had become too costly for a single country to fund. The Italian government requested additional funds from the other EU member states but they refused.
asylum seeker
A person who flees his or her home country and “spontaneously” enters another country and applies for asylum, i.e. the right to international protection. A person attains this status by making a formal application for the right to remain in another country and keeps that status until the application has been concluded.
Schengen Agreement
A treaty which led to the creation of an area of Europe where internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed in 1985 by five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It proposed measures intended to gradually abolish border checks at the signatories’ common borders, including reduced speed vehicle checks that allowed vehicles to cross borders without stopping, freedom for residents in border areas to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, and the harmonization of visa policies.
Dublin Regulation
A European Union (EU) law that determines the EU member state responsible to examine an application for asylum seekers of international protection under the Geneva Convention and the EU Qualification Directive within the European Union.

 

Background: EU and Migration

Movement across Europe is largely regulated by the Schengen Agreement, by which 26 European countries (22 of the 28 European Union member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) joined to form an area where border checks between the 26 member states (internal Schengen borders) are abolished and checks are restricted to the external Schengen borders. Countries with external borders are obligated to enforce border control regulations. Countries may reinstate internal border controls for a maximum of two months for “public policy or national security” reasons.

Article 26 of the Schengen Convention states that carriers that transport people into the Schengen area shall, if they transport people who are refused entry into the Schengen area, be responsible to pay for the return of the refused people and additional penalties. This means that migrants without a visa are not allowed on aircraft, boats, or trains going into the Schengen area. After being refused passage, many migrants attempt to travel illegally, relying on migrant smugglers. Those who have basis to seek asylum in the EU (asylum seekers) face the rules of the Dublin Regulation, which determines the EU member state responsible to examine an asylum application. This prevents asylum applicants in the EU from applying for asylum to numerous member states and situations when no member state takes responsibility for an asylum seeker. By default (when no family reasons or humanitarian grounds are present), the first member state that an asylum seeker entered and in which they have been fingerprinted is responsible. If the asylum seeker then moves to another member state, he or she can be transferred back to the member state they first entered. Many criticize the Dublin rules for placing too much responsibility for asylum seekers on member states on the EU’s external borders (e.g., Italy, Greece, and Hungary), instead of devising a burden-sharing system among EU states.

Migrants crossing illegally into Hungary underneath the unfinished Hungary–Serbia border fence, August 25, 2015, photo by Gémes Sándor.

Migrants crossing illegally into Hungary underneath the unfinished Hungary–Serbia border fence, August 25, 2015, photo by Gémes Sándor. The Hungary-Serbia border is one external border of the Schengen area and also of the European Union. In 2016, border controls were temporarily introduced in seven Schengen countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, and Sweden) in response to the European refugee crisis.

Global Refugee Crisis

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reached 59.5 million at the end of 2014, the highest level since World War II. Of these 59.5 million, 19.5 million were refugees and 1.8 million were asylum seekers. The rest were persons displaced within their own countries (internally displaced persons). Among them, Syrian refugees became the largest refugee group in 2014 (as of February 2017, the UNHCR reported over 4.7 million registered Syrian refugees worldwide), overtaking Afghan refugees, previously the largest refugee group for three decades. Six of the ten largest countries of origin of refugees were African: Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea.

Developing countries hosted the largest share of refugees (86% by the end of 2014). Although most Syrian refugees were hosted by neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, the number of asylum applications lodged by Syrian refugees in Europe steadily increased between 2011 and 2015, totaling 813,599 in 37 European countries as of November 2015. Fifty-seven percent of them applied for asylum in Germany or Serbia.

According to the UNHCR, most people arriving in Europe in 2015 were refugees, fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Eritrea. Eighty-four percent of Mediterranean Sea arrivals in 2015 came from the world’s top ten refugee-producing countries: Syria (49%), Afghanistan (21%), Iraq (8%), Eritrea (4%), Pakistan (2%), Nigeria (2%), Somalia (2%), Sudan (1%), the Gambia (1%), and Mali (1%). Asylum seekers of seven nationalities, Syrians, Eritreans, Iraqis, Afghans, Iranians, Somalis, and Sudanese, had an asylum recognition rate of over 50% in EU states in the first quarter of 2015, meaning that they obtained protection over half the time they applied. Wars fueling the crisis are the Syrian Civil War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, the War in Somalia, and the War in Darfur. Refugees from Eritrea, one of the most repressive states in the world, flee from indefinite military conscription and forced labor. Some ethnicities or religions from an originating country are more represented among the migrants than others; for instance, Kurds make up a substantial number of refugees from Turkey and Iraq. Fifty-eight percent of the refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2015 were men, 17% were women, and 25% were children.

Europe’s Response

Amid an upsurge in the number of sea arrivals in Italy from Libya in 2014, several European Union governments refused to fund the Italian-run rescue option Operation Mare Nostrum, which was replaced by Frontex’s Operation Triton. The latter involves voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations (both EU member states and non-members). Current voluntary contributors are Croatia, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Lithuania, and Malta. The operation was undertaken after Italy ended Mare Nostrum, which had become too costly for a single country to fund. The Italian government requested additional funds from the other EU member states, but they refused. In the first six months of 2015, Greece overtook Italy as the first EU country of arrival, becoming, in the summer 2015, the starting point of a flow of refugees and migrants moving through Balkan countries to northern European countries, mainly Germany and Sweden.

Migrants in Budapest railway station, with most heading to Germany, September 4, 2015, photo by Elekes Andor.

Migrants in Budapest railway station, with most heading to Germany, September 4, 2015, photo by Elekes Andor. Germany placed temporary travel restrictions from Austria by rail in 2015 but has imposed the least onerous restrictions for migrants entering by the Western Balkans route. The November 2015 Paris attacks prompted reevaluation of German officials’ stance on the EU’s policy toward migrants. There appeared to be a consensus among officials, with the notable exception of Angela Merkel, that a higher level of scrutiny was needed in vetting migrants with respect to their mission in Germany. However, while not officially limiting the influx, Merkel has tightened asylum policy in Germany.

Since April 2015, the European Union has struggled to cope with the crisis, increasing funding for border patrol operations in the Mediterranean, devising plans to fight migrant smuggling, launching Operation Sophia with the aim of neutralizing established refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean, and proposing a new quota system both to relocate asylum seekers among EU states for processing of refugee claims to alleviate the burden on countries on the outer borders of the Union and to resettle asylum seekers who have been determined refugees. Individual countries have at times reintroduced border controls within the Schengen area and rifts have emerged between countries willing to allow entry of asylum seekers for processing of refugee claims and those trying to discourage their entry for processing. According to Eurostat, EU member states received over 1.2 million first-time asylum applications in 2015, more than double that of the previous year. Four states (Germany, Hungary, Sweden, and Austria) received around two-thirds of the EU’s asylum applications in 2015, with Hungary, Sweden, and Austria the top recipients per capita. Germany has been the most sought-after final destination in the EU migrant and refugee crisis.

The escalation of shipwrecks of migrant boats in the Mediterranean in 2015 led European Union leaders to reconsider their policies on border control and processing of migrants. The European Commission proposed a plan that included deploying teams in Italy and Greece for joint processing of asylum applications, and German chancellor Angela Merkel proposed a new system of quotas to distribute non-EU asylum seekers around the EU member states. As thousands of migrants started to move from Budapest to Vienna, Germany, Italy, and France demanded asylum-seekers to be shared more evenly between EU states. The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed to distribute 160,000 asylum seekers among EU states under a new migrant quota system. Leaders of the Visegrad Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) declared they will not accept any compulsory long-term quota on redistribution of migrants. France announced that it would accept 24,000 asylum-seekers over two years. Britain announced that it would take in up to 20,000 refugees, primarily vulnerable children and orphans, and Germany pledged USD $6.7 billion to deal with the migrant crisis. However, also in 2015, both Austria and Germany warned that they would not be able to keep up with the current pace of the influx and that it would need to slow down. By September 2016, the quota system proposed by EU was abandoned after staunch resistance by Visegrad Group countries. The refugee crisis also fueled nationalist sentiments across Europe and the appeal of politicians who oppose the idea of European integration entirely or in its current form, often advocating anti-immigrant and anti-refugee slogans.

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