The EU Refugee Dilemma Can Be Resolved Only by Ending the War in Syria

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has welcomed Germany's re-introduction of border controls, telling German newspaper Bild that it was necessary to protect German and European values. "We have great understanding for Germany's decision and we'd like to express our solidarity," he said in comments to be published today. But, he said this should only be a first step, since Greece's borders also need to be protected as soon as possible. Germany re-imposed border controls on Sunday after admitting that it could not cope with the thousands of asylum seekers arriving every day. Germany said the temporary measure would take effect first on the southern border with Austria, where migrant arrivals have skyrocketed since Chancellor Angela Merkel singlehandedly put in abeyance the Dublin rules requiring registration of migrants in the first EU country they enter, when she opened German borders a week ago to unregistered refugees coming from other EU countries. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere explained the border closure : "The aim of these measures is to limit the current inflows to Germany and to return to orderly procedures when people enter the country." De Maiziere said it was also necessary for security reasons. Open borders among the European countries that signed the Schengen Treaty are a crucial part of the EU project but controls can be re-introduced, provided they are only temporary. ~~~~~ Today, deeply divided European Union ministers will meet to try to put order into their migrant crisis. The EU executive Commission issued a statement saying : "The free movement of people under Schengen is a unique symbol of European integration. However, the other side of the coin is a better joint management of our external borders and more solidarity in coping with the refugee crisis." At today's emergency meeting, the 28 EU member state interior ministers will discuss Commission proposals to distribute 160,000 asylum seekers across the EU. Berlin made clear it wants EU partners to share the migrant burden. The Commission statement said : "We need swift progress on the Commission's proposals now," in an obvious reference to the tens of thousands of people heading to Europe to flee war and poverty in Syria and other parts of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. ~~~~~ The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has called on every EU member state to take in a share of asylum-seekers under a Brussels plan that some countries have refused to accept. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has gained the backing of the UNHCR in appealing for the creation of effective reception centers to register and screen people arriving in the Schengen states of Greece, Italy and Hungary. A UNHCR statement said : "This must be accompanied by the rapid implementation of a relocation program as proposed by the European Commission." ~~~~~ While the EU and the UNHCR try to stabilize the refugee and migrant situation in Europe despite deep political differences among European governments, the crisis claimed more lives on Sunday when 34 refugees, almost half of them babies and children, drowned off a Greek island when their boat sank. When Germany opened its borders, it said it could manage the tens of thousands of migrants it attracted by sea and land, often via Turkey and the Greek islands, and then onwards through the Balkans, Hungary and Austria. Police said 13,000 arrived in the southern German city of Munich on Saturday, and another 3,000 on Sunday morning. But the result of Germany's largesse is that it has now joined smaller, poorer countries like Greece and Hungary in struggling to handle the huge flow of desperate people. So, Germany has halted train traffic from Austria, a spokeswoman for Austrian rail company OeBB said on Sunday. Trains from Austria to Germany will be stopped until 5:00 am (0300 GMT) on Monday, the Bavaria interior minister said. German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is also vice-chancellor, told the website of Der Tagesspiegel newspaper : "It's true : the European lack of action in the refugee crisis is now pushing even Germany to the limit of its ability." Interior Minister De Maiziere defended Merkel's decisions to both open and then close Germany's border with Austria, but he insisted the Dublin rules are still valid. He said : "We need to quickly return to orderly procedures now. We can't allow refugees to freely choose where they want to stay - that's not the case anywhere in the world." ~~~~~ The European Commission said Germany appeared legally justified in reimposing border controls with Austria, saying the move showed the need for EU states to back the executive's proposed plans for refugees : "The temporary reintroduction of border controls between member states is an exceptional possibility explicitly foreseen in and regulated by the Schengen Borders Code, in case of a crisis situation. The current situation in Germany, prima facie, appears to be a situation covered by the rules." It added that the executive would keep the situation under review and said the aim would be to return to the normal situation of no border checks between member states of the Schengen zone "as soon as feasible." ~~~~~~Most asylum seekers are refusing to stay in the poorer southern European countries where they arrive, such as Greece, and are instead making their way to Germany or Sweden where they anticipate a warmer welcome and better social benefits. Many Germans have greeted the arrivals with cheers and volunteers are flooding in to help. But, central European countries disagree and are hostile to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, rejecting compulsory quotas. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Sunday : "We are helping, we are ready to help, but on a voluntary basis. The quotas won’t work." In Slovakia, Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said he would try to block quotas : "They don't make any sense...and don't solve the crisis in any way." he said. Poland said it might accept more migrants, but only if the EU secures its external borders, separates those who need help from economic migrants, and allows Warsaw a say in screening them from the viewpoint of security. ~~~~~ Dear readers, while Europe ponders their fate, the migrants continue to risk all on their journeys to Europe -- death by drowning, weeks of marching without sure sources of food, water, or shelter, and hostile border security patrols -- all at high cost and with many taking young children with them. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, 8,500 migrants entered Macedonia from Greece, according to the UNHCR. Hungarian state TV reported that 8,000 to 10,000 migrants had crossed into Austria at Hegyeshalom by 6 p.m. and several thousand more were expected by the end of the day. The influx will not stop. And there is little acceptable action that Europe can take to halt the migration that now includes up to 80% Syrian refugees, but also a mix of Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Yemenis. EU ministers and the UNHCR will continue to talk. But, other EU leaders know that only peace in Syria will provide the beginning of real relief. That is why Chancellor Merkel has "welcomed" the increased military activity of Russia in Syria. And it is why a majority of French citizens are, for the first time, in favor of sending troops to fight ISIS militants in Syria, a prospect that President Francois Hollande flatly ruled out recently. A poll released on Sunday showed 56% of those questioned were in favor of a ground intervention as part of an international coalition. France began reconnaissance missions over Syria last week in preparation for a decision on whether to launch air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria. Until now France has only taken part in air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. And rumors in the UK suggest that British troops are positioned and ready to move into Syria, although Parliament has not yet given approval. Senior European military and political leaders are now beginning to understand what the US Congress and American people have known for four years -- returning the Middle East to some sort of balanced truce between sunnis and shiites begins in Syria. President Obama and his White House advisors have not yet understood, and so the destruction and displacement of people continues.