JUST weeks ago the possibility of Greece falling out of the single currency seemed the biggest threat to the future of the European Union (EU). Now that is but a vague memory for many Europeans despite little having been done to find long-term solutions to the Greek debt crisis.
Of more immediate concern is the state of the world economy now that the Chinese growth miracle is stumbling — and the fact that the dam wall holding back a flood of undocumented immigrants from Africa and the Middle East has apparently burst, putting severe strain on Europe’s ability to cope with the influx.
As if political turmoil and renewed austerity were not enough for Greece to cope with, it is also bearing the brunt of the human deluge, having been the landing point for an estimated 200,000 illegal migrants this year alone. But most of the migrants who arrive by sea do not tarry for long in southern Europe, being intent on settling in the more affluent west and north of the continent.
This was illustrated at the weekend when thousands of refugees who had entered Greece illegally massed at its border with Macedonia, eventually forcing soldiers to reopen the crossing and abandon attempts to stem the western flow.
There are two main risks arising from this phenomenon: that there will be a political backlash that will result in an accelerated rise of xenophobic, anti-EU nationalist parties, and that attempts to control the movement of people within Europe will negate one of the primary benefits of economic integration — open borders.
Germany, which expects a record 800,000 asylum requests this year, is pushing for the EU’s asylum policy to be reviewed and for all member states to share the burden of the influx. Tensions are rising, with a marked increase in xenophobic attacks across Europe in addition to the rise of far-right parties that have not been a political force in Europe since before the Second World War.
Revision of the Schengen accords that allow free travel across Europe would take some of the pressure off western Europe at the expense of countries in the south, but would severely affect the free flow of goods and services too.
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