In Dresden,Germany, supporters of the Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) gather to vent anger over refugees from the Middle East.

 

LONDON—The refugee crisis continues to provoke heated discussion in Europe, and in Germany it has brought about the resurgence of the far-right anti-Islam Pegida movement, Der Spiegel reported on Oct. 14. German authorities expressed concern that anti-immigrant sentiment might “spread to the mainstream.”

Although EU governments have agreed to a refugee-sharing plan covering 120,000 people and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed willingness to take a large quota, Germany is still divided on this issue. According to an earlier Der Spiegel report, German conservatives are turning their backs on Merkel over her handling of the crisis.

In addition, a survey showed that 56 percent believe there are already too many asylum-seekers versus 19 percent who agree there is still more room in Germany.
 

Xenophobia widespread
In fact, Germany is not an isolated case in Europe.

“In many countries immigration is a very delicate topic, with xenophobic, and anti-immigrant parties gaining ground,” said Daniel Gros, director of the Centre for European Policy Studies. While Merkel has been “courageously swimming against the tide in publicly welcoming refugees,” public opinion is turning against her as thousands of refugees flow in every day, he added.

Alain Obadia, president of Foundation Gabriel Péri in Paris, said the refugee crisis has exacerbated the already intense xenophobia produced by the financial and economic crises of recent years. The far-right French National Front has been advocating “national priority,” arguing that France is not capable of taking refugees and offering them jobs.
 

“Europe’s response to the crisis is clearly mixed. Some countries have been more welcoming to refugees; other much less so, whilst even within countries, there are clearly differences of opinion both in the public at large and within ruling parties,” said Richard Black from the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies at the University of London.
 

While some have emphasized the need to learn from the past, there has been no sign of actual willingness to do so, Black said. Moreover, as people do not agree on the best policy approach, Europe’s response has “vacillated considerably,” he said.
 

Plan needs improvement
One contentious point is the workability of the refugee quotas. Gros said the plan is the EU’s first attempt, and it can only be implemented step by step. Otherwise, member states might “block everything,” he said. “Although, in theory the plan is compulsory, in reality the EU cannot force member states to admit people whom they do not want,” Gros said.

“It is difficult to see how a refugee-sharing plan can succeed, given the differences of policy and public opinion across Europe,” Black said. History has shown that such a refugee-sharing plan is usually too little, too late, he said.
 

Gros said that it is no longer tenable to continue to rely on the Dublin System, which states that the member state responsible for an asylum claim should be the first through which the asylum seeker entered the EU.

The system is flawed in the sense that some countries are more effective at preventing an asylum claim in the first place by virtue of geography as well as public policy, Black said. While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the principles behind it, the system has failed to reflect the reality of competitive rather than consensual decision making in the EU.
 

Consensus essential
Black suggested two effective measures to solve the current crisis. States in Europe and elsewhere need to adopt “a more collaborative approach” to solving the political crises in Syria, Ukraine and Eritrea, which he said is unlikely at present, given the inconsistency of approaches to solving the Syrian crisis within and between states. The other way is for the member states to convince the public that they will be able to cope with the refugee crisis, which is not likely to happen in the near future either.
 

Gros said it is necessary to effectively manage the EU’s external border and set up a fair refugee-sharing plan. “The important point is to start with concrete steps so that member states see that they are better off with a common European solution,” he said.

 

Jiang Hong is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.