Thu Mar 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Opening the EU borders?

The meeting of EU leaders held on Wednesday 23 in Brussels to discuss the immigration crisis failed miserably. The crisis deepens, once the influx of people does not stop (the asylum claims in Europe so far this year exceeded the figure of 530,000). Hungary set a new record this week with over 10,000 people having entered its borders in less than 24 hours. Greece and Italy will open in the coming weeks “reception centers” (rather say detention centers) to separate economic migrants from those fleeing the war. The fascist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban refused to include his country in the plan to open such centers arguing that the increased repression should be the priority action to “stop the illegal entry of immigrants.” 

The statement made public after the Wednesday’s meeting did not mention the number of people that the EU will receive. Again they did not reach an agreement. The differences revolve around the total number of refugees and mandatory quota for each country, but especially in relation to long-term policy to be adopted in Europe. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, said that the EU must build a “de facto border for immigration because otherwise there will be no control on the arrival of refugees” (El País, 09/25/2015). Tusk makes repeated references to the “European Fortress” and the need for the old continent to close its “doors and windows”. 

France, on the other hand, advocates the creation of registration centers for refugees in countries bordering the EU, as Turkey and Macedonia. Other European leaders insist on the creation of a pan-European agency to take over the borders with greater power than even the national police forces of member states, which would mean even greater transfer of sovereignty by Greece, Italy and Hungary to Brussels. The EU seeks, on the other hand, to get greater coordination with Turkey, from where come most refugee newcomers to Europe. 

In short, European governments are up to their necks in a deep swamp from which they will fail to emerge in the coming years, which highlights the main contradictions of our times. Increasing poverty, economic crises and wars, caused by a system totally unable to rationally organize the distribution of global wealth: the capitalist system in its decadent phase. We expect tumultuous years ahead.

The agreements between the EU leaders 

Despite the tensions and confusion over how to deal with the refugee crisis, the heads of EU governments have reached important agreements which are worth mentioning. Let’s go ahead: 

(1) To combat refugee traffickers quickly.

(2) To accelerate the process of asylum, so the people to whom entry is refused can be returned to their countries faster. This implies the separation between economic and fleeing wars or disasters immigrants.

(3) Increased border control.

(4) To increase aid to refugee camps in countries bordering Syria.

(5) To push for resuming negotiations of the international community on the Syrian Civil War. (source: BBC). 

Some brief comments: 

(1) The fight against illegal trafficking of people is absolutely necessary, but the EU will be unable to carry it out, as its policy of increasing repression and border control is the most important cause for the emergence of this business. (…) 

(2) Countries such as Germany and Denmark are changing their laws to speed up the issuance of permits and the return of “denied cases.” While it is true that Germany will receive a large number of people this year (something like 800,000 refugees), in bourgeois politics whenever a door closes another opens. Germany has recently changed the status of countries like Albania, Kosovo and Serbia to “safe countries”, with the aim of closing the migratory flow from these countries to the EU. (…) 

(3) The need to increase the “border security” is the only thing that unites all European leaders. By far, the latest reallocations of resources by the EU have not gone to help refugees, but to improve border control. 

(4) Europe will increase aid to refugee camps in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. This measure comes late and not enough to liven up the drama of the more than 4 million Syrians scattered in the Middle East and other countries. Possibly it will remain more a declaration of intent to the media, even that is opposed to a sector of European politicians. 

(5) The emergence of the immigration crisis pressed the EU to increase efforts to resolve the conflict in Syria. The measure advocated by innumerable heads of government passes through negotiation between the Syrian opposition in exile in Turkey and the Assad regime. To end the regime that is causing this wave of immigration should be the first step towards reducing the number of people fleeing Syria, though it would not end with global migration flows mainly caused by economic crises, wars and the climate change. (…)

Opening European borders? 

The immigration crisis opened a debate in the media and solidarity movements in Europe on how to deal with it. The existing dilemma is: to open borders or control the entry of people in Europe? The European establishment defends the border control through repression, building walls and subsequent selection of those who enter. 

That the bureaucrats in Brussels have this agenda is not surprising. What it’s troubling is that European left groups and leaders have gone in the same direction. The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, internationally known in the circles of leftist intellectuals and activists for his work on Lenin, violence and psychoanalysis (among other things), wrote a few days ago, an article with the following quote: 

“The greatest hypocrites are those who call for open borders. They know very well this will never happen: it would instantly trigger a populist revolt in Europe. They play the beautiful soul, superior to the corrupted world while continuing to get along in it. The anti-immigrant populist also knows very well that, left to themselves, people in Africa and the Middle East will not succeed in solving their own problems and changing their societies. Why not? Because we in Western Europe are preventing them from doing so. ¹” 

Behind the correct approach that the EU is jointly responsible for the problems in the Middle East and Africa, it’s hidden a major capitulation to the European imperialist bourgeoisie, as both coincide in proposing “borders control.” Zizek recognizes in this way a supposed legitimacy of the European Union to repress and decide who are capable and have the profile to live in its countries. It is also consistent with the far-right rants against immigrants who, according to its xenophobic ideologies, take jobs from European workers and cause social problems such as violence and crime. 

On the other hand, there are sectors linked to Stalinism and old PC that insist the only responsible for the Syrian war are the NATO and U.S., as if there was a conspiracy to overthrow a progressive government. Nothing is more false. No denouncing the Arab dictatorships and, especially, in this case, the role of Assad as the main responsible for the war and the death of over 400,000 people in Syria entails in practice the spreading of USA, Russia and Israel arguments that the great enemy to defeat Syria and Iraq is the Islamic State (IS), when various human rights organizations have claimed that Assad has killed many more Syrians than the IS. 

There is a progressive movement of solidarity with refugees in different European countries. Between 40% and 60% of the German population (according to a poll) actively supports the policy of welcoming refugees. In fact, governments have only responded to the crisis after this massive popular support. Active participation in this movement is an essential task of the social activists of all ideologies and tendencies. Presenting a program of demands to governments that so far have done little or nothing for the hundreds of thousands of people who come to Europe is urgent. Disinformation is total. It is not known how many people will come or to what countries they will go. The immediate and concrete struggle for the expansion of the derisory mandatory quotas and better treatment for refugees who are already in European countries is necessary. 

However, we must also carry out a strategic political struggle. First, an explanation of the reactionary character of the EU, against those who say it can be reformed, and second exposing the criminal Arab rulers, who are as responsible as the EU for this serious situation, as Assad, the Iranian regime, the Saudi Arabian monarchy, among others. Only demanding the end of the imperialist and discriminatory EU – which oppresses peoples while protecting big capitalists – we are able to respond properly to this crisis. We must intensify the mobilization to push the state, regional and municipal governments to open the European borders to all who seek asylum, no matter where they are from, regardless of country, religion, ethnicity or vocational training.

(1) – http://www.lrb.co.uk/2015/09/09/slavoj-zizek/the-non-existence-of-norway

 

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