Hungary has become the major transit country for migrants arriving in Greece with the hopes of reaching Germany. Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has been very combative when it comes to the tens of thousands of migrants currently inside the country. His concern is to preserve Hungary's Christian roots while many of the migrants are Muslim. Orban made the decision to build a razor- wire fence along the border with Serbia to address the migrant situation.
This goes against the EU's proposed plan that will relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers across Europe. To determine the number of migrants each country must accept the EU will use a formula incorporating population, GDP, and the unemployment rate. Previous attempts to impose quotas has failed due to opposition from eastern European leaders like Orban.
It is unclear whether this proposition will pass in the EU. There is a meeting set for September 14th with the EU interior ministers that will reject or accept this proposal. So far this year 350,000 migrants have reached Italy and Greece this year and people are continuing to make the dangerous journey to safety. What do you think of this proposal on how to relocate migrants across the EU? Is it a fair way to distribute migrants across the EU?
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21663496-hungarys-outspoken-prime-minister-has-spurred-europe-action-europe-finally-confronting
6 comments:
I feel that this plan to relocate 160,00 asylum-seekers across Europe, while practicable on paper, is frankly not feasible. A plan like this needs time and thought to be executable and forthrightly, time is not on the side of the EU. I feel that a more easily attainable plan should be implemented to ensure the safety of these people in the fastest way possible. This isn't just a small blimp on the radar in which only a few people are affected... This is a situation in which the whole world is affected. What is this plan? I do not know, but something needs to be done and soon if we want the crisis to be over.
I agree in the sense that a more practice and systematic plan needs to be put in to action. Having so many families with young children becoming involved in dangerous situations with the authorities and the police, there needs to be an action implemented that ensures the safety of all of the migrants. Further outbreak could occur if a small element of a shaky plan goes wrong.
After seeing this first hand in Italy last semester, I can say that it will do nothing but good for the well being of the EU. The migrants are overwhelming their host countries, especially Italy, who is seeing a rise in unemployment and in the number of illegal gypsy camps popping up in cities in the south. I think this is a great solution on the EU's part and will help the migrants find work and a better life.
Looking at these various factors such as GDP, unemployment, and the current population is a responsible decision by the EU. If these migrants are placed in countries that are overpopulated, have high unemployment, and are currently not growing this will give them a very slim chance to better themselves as a part of society. However, while this sounds like a good plan on paper you are not dealing with numbers. People and families are involved in these ideas and I think this adds a different dynamic to the puzzle. I think new ways to incorporate migrants into the overall economy of countries should be looked at as a potential solution and not just the current overall state of the country as it stands today.
I feel like this is the great human rights crisis of this decade. Hungary has proved to be an adversary to the rest of the EU countries that seem willing to step in.
I recently read an article in Reuters, I think, saying how these refugees are actually good for these aging populations in Europe, since they bring a fresh, new workforce in, which then take the jobs being vacated by the elderly population.
I think the formula is an imperfect one, but there is no clear answer on how to figure out how to distribute this growing population. I think it will ultimately come down to the countries that are financially and socially able to take the refugees in.
I think that the effectiveness of the resettling of these migrants is highly dependent on the leadership among the EU countries and how they communicate with their citizens. If a leader such as Orban is so openly rejecting helping these individuals and families, that sentiment is likely to translate to the public as well. While the conservation of one's roots and culture is important, what it comes down to is that these are people, this is not a numbers game as Ashley pointed out. This does make it very difficult to reach an effective solution. Several people have also pointed out the issue with using the word "migrant" as opposed to "refugee." Using "migrant" in a way diffuses the severity of the situation of those who have been displaced because it assumes that they are leaving on their own terms, which is not always the case.
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