As the EU struggles with migration policy, Italy and Greece are demanding more solidarity from wealthier member states. Is the bloc’s handling of migration a failure of unity, or an inevitable consequence of national interests clashing?
Ever since the 2015 migrant crisis, immigration has remained one of the European Union’s biggest points of contention. The differing approaches to the issue have served as a magnifying glass, revealing the tensions between the EU member states.
Angela Merkel taking a stance of “We can do it!” and Victor Orban warning that “countries that don’t stop immigration will be lost,” represented that divide, showing how Europe has split into opposing camps. Hungary and Poland have been most vocal in their opposition to irregular migration. But as the flows of migration continued – with 29 million migrants entering the EU both legally and illegally in the last decade, placing a significant burden on the migration system – the nationalist rhetoric has moved from the periphery to the centre. This further deepened the ideological divide within Europe, leaving the EU more vulnerable to the rise of populism and less able to produce a unified policy platform.
The crisis has also demonstrated some of the structural weaknesses of the EU. Following the influx of migration in 2015 the European Council adopted a scheme to relocate migrants across the EU, assigning each member state a quota. Poland, Hungary, and Czechia refused to comply, eventually leading to a decision of the European Court of Justice against them. Yet, little was done to actually enforce the ruling or the policy. Andrej Babiš, the Czech Prime Minister, said “Even though we lost the case, it is not really that important … It is crucial to say that we will not be taking in any migrants and the quotas scheme has ended in the meantime.”
Border states like Italy and Greece have long complained about being disproportionately burdened, especially with the Dublin Regulation (2013), which requires migrants to apply for asylum in the first country in which they arrived. In May 2024 the EU introduced a new Pact on Migration and Asylum, hoping to result in a more unified and effective approach, and lessen the burden on the Mediterranean countries. The Pact requires other EU states to share responsibilities, while simultaneously toughening border screening procedures and facilitating more rapid deportation. The reactions to the Pact demonstrate that the divisions have not been eroded – some claim it doesn’t go far enough in preventing migration, while others argue that it is too harsh and will result in human rights abuses.
The struggles with migration policies have demonstrated both the EU’s structural weaknesses and the diverging national interests of its member states. Introducing tougher laws is unlikely to resolve those tensions, nor is it likely to halt the influx of migration. The only way in which the EU can meaningfully solve the issue is by the member states adopting a unified approach to address the underlying causes of migration.
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