As the bombs continue to drop in Aleppo and another
estimated 70, 000 people flee Syria, an additional and surprising casualty of
the war has emerged. The European Union, established over 50 years ago as a
brave new way to stop the recurring conflicts that had plagued the continent in
the past, is perilously close to crumbling.
Originally conceived in the aftermath of World War II as a way
to stop the destructive fighting that had ravaged Europe over the 19th
and 20th centuries, the European Union started life as an economic
union. Designed specifically to tie together the diverse nations of Germany and
France, the forefathers of the EU believed that if these nations were
economically tied to one another the continual belligerent behaviour would
cease to exist.
Representing a unified
yet diverse federal state, for the better part of 20 years the European Union
has being a border-free, single currency, European economic zone. In creating
this unique space Europe established one of the strongest and largest
economies. In addition, the European
Union’s political integration has meant that member states have not been in
conflict with one another for over 50 years.
Under the constant wave of migrants seeking humanitarian aid,
it has become apparent that the structures and cornerstones of the European
Union are not designed well at all. The recent Euro currency crisis created
cracks in the European Union’s infrastructure, but Europe was slowly
recovering. However, with the recent humanitarian crisis these cracks have
become holes in the Union, with many of the 28 member states now suspending key
components of the EU treaty to cope with the refugee emergency.
Open Borders Now Closing
Established 20 years ago in Schengen Luxemburg 1985, a
borderless Europe was hailed as a cornerstone of the European Union and enabled
people to work and move freely throughout the region. It created a sense of
unity and common ground throughout the many diverse European nations.
In September 2015 Germany decided it would close
its borders as a way to deal with the human sea that was crossing into
their territories, thus suspending this key component of the EU; a region
without borders. Germany was soon
followed by Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Netherlands, Austria, the Czech
Republic, and most recently Finland,
Denmark and Sweden. This suspension had many flow-on economic
effects as business experienced supply delays and workers were hinder from
travelling freely in the union due to the reimposed international border
controls. Likewise, governments had to spend fortunes on re-establishing border
controls.
As the Finnish Finance Minster Alex Stubbs stated “one
of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union is under threat and that is
the free movement of people and the whole Schengen Agreement.”
External Controls
In an attempt to re-establish territorial control, last week
EU ministers urged Greece, the primary entry point for Syrian refugees, to do
more to control the huge influx of migrants. Threatening to exclude it from the
continent’s prized passport free zone, which would have wide ranging economic
consequences, EU ministers said Greece needed to put stronger controls into
place.
This is easier said than done. According to Greece’s
Immigration Minister Yannis Mouzalas, the EU has been dragging its feet in providing
Greece with aid to combat the tide of refugees. Monetary funds, finger printing
equipment, border guards and medical staff have been slow in reaching Greece. This has hampered the ability of Greek
officials to process the estimated 3000
refugees that are entering its territory every day.
Rising Ethno-nationalism
Disconcertingly, the biggest threat to the EU has been the
rise of right wing nationalism and xenophobia among many of the member states
since the attack on Paris in 2015. In Austria, Poland, Sweden Finland and Denmark
right
wing nationalist parties who have campaigned on an anti-immigration
platform have gained a large proportion of the vote in their respective
countries.
In each case these parties have then strengthened their
anti-EU stance. Arguing that the EU is ineffective and domineering due to its
inability to take real action. The right
wing movement claims nations need less involvement in the EU and should return
to a less integrated Europe. Leading the
charge in this debate has been Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron who is in
the process of holding a referendum on whether Britain should remain a EU
member in 2016.
While no nation has yet called time on their EU membership,
it is apparent from this crisis that the EU
needs to change. It is argued that many would leave if it was financially
viable. Its bureaucracies and institutions are bloated and slow to react. The
28 members are constantly having trouble working together, ironically indicating
that while the EU was created to end constant bickering and conflict 50 years
ago, little has changed.
Billionaire George
Soros has also warned that Europe is on the ‘verge of collapse’. In an
interview with the New York Review of Books he stated that Merkel “correctly
predicted the EU is on the verge of collapse. …Merkel correctly foresaw the
potential of the migration crisis to destroy the European Union. What was a
prediction has become a reality. The European Union badly needs fixing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment