PatMedMUNCXI European Union European Immigration Crisis

Transcription

1 PatMedMUNCXI European Union European Immigration Crisis Europe has often been seen as a magnet of safety to those living in countries where the only lives they know are that of war and instability. This is constantly being proven by the large influx of refugees and immigrants rushing into the countries of the EU. Many of the wealthy developed countries in Europe have been taking in refugees consistently from places in turmoil of the Middle East and Africa, in large quantities, for more than a decade. The countries in the EU can come together and agree on a unification in their shared region, the protection of fundamental human rights, and the continuous strive for progress in their nations with the support of their other EU enlisted neighbors. Yet lately there has been much debate in the prominent and ever-growing migrant crisis that has been begging for their intervention and attention for years now. Many nations have maintained their borders open during even the highest rushes of immigration, while others such as Hungary and Austria have been open about their opposition to having thousands of refugees entering their countries by stationing large fences between themselves and the borders of their neighboring non-eu country. There have been many differentiating reactions between the EU members lately on this topic, but as a whole many of these countries have been reluctant on openly accepting refugees for all similar reasons. First, many countries, such as France and Britain, have closed themselves off to the idea of allowing any more refugees into their country in fear of allowing a gateway for more terrorist attacks in their nation. In addition to fear of unknown threats being brought into the country in the masses of fear stricken migrants, the expectant threat of economic decline is very

2 common among these developed nations. This anxiety comes from the chance that by allowing many displaced refugees into the countries there may be a greater chance of migration reducing average wages and increasing the unemployment rates of the workforce in the long-run. Also, many nations worry that the increase of refugees will put a further strain on their country s budgetary cost. According to the OECD, the cost for processing and accommodating asylum seekers is estimated around per application for the first year, meaning this number in itself does not include the future costs of providing each refugee with access to welfare, education, and other integration essential programs. Due to of this fear and uncertainty of any positive outcome of this situation, many countries have decided to take more rigid and restrictive actions in order to protect the people of their homeland. Countries of origin: In order to fully get a grasp of this topic one must understand where it stems from. In this case, these refugees are making their way from mainly countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Each one of these countries has refugees moving towards the safe haven of the EU region all for the same reason: to escape violence. For example, since 2011, Syria has been fighting a civil war that has forced at least 6.1 million people to leave their homes within Syria, and another 5.6 million displaced abroad most likely heading for the European neighboring countries. Meanwhile in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan many civilians leave their countries due to their loss in hope for their nation and the end of what UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,

3 Zeid Ra ad Al Hussein, called a venomous cycle of violence. Due to the continuous losses in wars such as in Afghanistan, citizens of this country are left to watch as international forces slowly withdraw from the conflict. In desperation, civilians from these war-torn countries scramble to attempt to make their way into Europe, west or north of them, through dangerous sea or land routes. In order to avoid the terrorist forces and other treacherous land routes, many take the Mediterranean sea routes and land on the southern coastlines of Italy, Greece, Turkey, and even Spain for the countries in further north-west Africa. To do this many refugees find themselves making their way to Europe through human-trafficking networks, especially through borders of less law enforced countries such as Libya. This sort of illegal smuggling leaves room for unsafe travelling across the Mediterranean that left 5,082 migrants dead on the Mediterranean sea route in Once the few lucky refugees make it onto the southern European borders, they hope to move towards more opportunities in countries of northern Europe. This path way for refugees isn t attainable for many refugees due to the implementation of the Dublin Regulation from According to the European Commission of Migration and Home Affairs, the Dublin Regulation gives any EU country the ability to return asylum seekers to their country of first entry to process their asylum claim, so long as that country has an effective asylum system. This is the new roadblock that has put a cap on the fire of hope in these refugees hearts. Current situation: The fleeing-from-war system that many refugees in search of a better future hope to carry through is no longer as simple as it may have been before. Due to the scares sparked by the multiple terrorist attacks in EU Member States such in the past few years and the almost unmanageable weight of thousands of refugees being forced to seek asylum in many

4 economically unstable Southern European countries, an increasing number of EU nations have decided to heighten their border control and asylum providing system to push off some percentage of the immigrants. In March of 2016, the EU itself proposed a deal in which Turkey would try to halt the crowds of refugees from moving forward into Europe; in return, Turkey would receive financial assistance, visa-free travel to the EU for Turkish citizens, and faster negotiations for EU accession. Though this act did reflect the EU s impetuosity to stop the immigration crisis, it did not ever get efficiently carried out by Turkey, leaving the EU nations in the same state of overwhelm. In earlier months, in Italy, a country that had previously been receiving most of the new rush of refugees through the Mediterranean, authorities began deporting as many illegals as possible. According to an Open Migration article in February 2017, Italy s Prime Minister Gentiloni along with many others of the Italian government justify this deportation by claiming they (as a nation) have the right to do this for the reason that expulsion orders are not enough: those who don't have the right to stay must return to their home countries. Furthermore, the EU has set up hotspots in Greece and Italy. Hotspots are meant to identify, register, and fingerprint incoming migrants. From there they decide to gift them their very much wanted asylum or return them to their place of origin. Though the idea seems effective, these hotspots have become overcrowded and understaffed refugee or even detention camps without much overall organized and reliable coordination. On the contrary to all of these presumed negative outcome that these refugee-blocking strategies are trying to prevent, there was were instances were instances where some countries did benefit (economically) from its flow of immigrants into the countries. For example in Germany surprising information was reported by Germany s Federal Employment Agency stating that the nation s economy is on course to create 650,000 new jobs this year, providing an approximate 100,000 jobs for those of the the previously unemployed refugee population. It is estimated that just under 46 million people are expected to be employed by this year, therefore sinking the unemployment rate to 2.3 million, lower than previous years. This and a simulator study conducted by the European Commision on the Long-Term Social, Economic and Fiscal Effects of Immigration Into the Eu: The Role of the Integration Policy, show that when immigrants bring skills that are short in supply in receiving countries, their economy through the

5 labour department is benefiting more than being harmed. In the end, many countries are still in debate over this immigration crisis due to the vast topics it brings up on itself. As a committee we have to decide what steps to take in order to create a resolution that loosens the tight knot of worries on the refugees in our countries and in the rest of the EU Member States. Every aspect of society is affected by how this is decided upon, therefore you will be forced to breakdown each concern your country has in regards to its natural state. Being a member of the European Union you must attempt to seal the schism in mindframe of each nation towards the incoming refugees. Points to Consider: What is your country s outlook on foreign problems, and foreigners? Does your country currently take in refugees? Has your country heightened its borders and made access into the country more difficult for refugees in the past couple of years? How has the crisis affected employment in your country? Helpful Links: an-union 5

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