President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker recently threatened financial sanctions against European Union (EU) member countries which fail to observe asylum procedures over the 1,60,000 refugees who attempted to enter countries on the periphery of Europe, namely: Italy, Greece and Hungary. Considering Hungary has failed to regulate the entry of these refugees owing to weak border controls, it has not adhered to the Dublin Regulation 2013. The Regulation states that asylum-seekers need to apply for refugee status in the country of their arrival.
In reality, it is difficult to adhere to this requirement since many refugees are not registered formally or even statistically considering Italy, Hungary and Greece have become chokepoints to cope with over 3,50,000 refugees and economic migrants this year. Evidently, their border control facilities have collapsed under the phenomenal pressure with multiple 'leaks' that threaten south-eastern Europe's border stability and have opened a Pandora's Box in Europe.
Most refugees seek to reach Germany, Denmark or Sweden as main target destinations owing to their strong social welfare systems. In a European context, the larger problem is that only some states like Germany are open to absorb refugees while other east European countries prefer to push these asylum seekers and economic migrants into the more prosperous states. Though the EU comprises 28 member countries, only some of them take their responsibility to manage the refugee crisis while others do not do so.
Today, Germany grapples with an unprecedented influx of refugees which could either be perceived as a boon or bane. Germany's demographic profile suggests a greying population that is starved of skilled human resources in several sectors which this flood of refu-gees could provide. However, this comes with a caveat in terms of social integration and internal security for Germany.
The emerging wave of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other West Asian countries are quite different from earlier refugee inflows given the magnitude of their numbers. It is ironical that Muslim refugees from Iraq and Syria choose to opt for Germany -- a part of Christian Europe. Their ethnic diversity makes them vulnerable to religious persecution in their home regions that compels them to exit. Therefore, to what extent would these refugees be able to adapt to a Christian-based culture in Europe? Germany is not new to refugees who come as political asylum seekers from various countries and cultural backgrounds. In the post-Second World War period, the trend was set by East German refugees who obtained political asylum in West Germany. However, their ethnic, linguistic and cultural commonality enabled them integrate easily.
Since then, a host of non-European refugees has entered Germany after reunification which included people from Tibet, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Albania, Eritrea, Somalia and Palestine who were assimilated into German society. Collectively, these non-European refugees form a miniscule minority of the German population, and therefore they posed no serious problem to their host country.
Germany is a refugee-friendly country due to historical reasons related to the Second World War. The post-war West German Constitution in order to make amends for the trauma of the Second World War crimes went out of the way to promote human rights. This is evident from Article 16a of the Basic Law grants victims of political persecution an individual right of asylum. The fundamental right of asylum thus has high priority and expresses Germany's willingness to fulfil its historical and humanitarian obligation to admit refugees.
The German Office for Immigration and Refugees recorded over 1, 73,000 new applications for asylum in 2014, a 58 per cent increase compared to the previous year. They have scrutinised almost 1, 29,000 files and Syria ranks highest with 40,000 refugees, followed by 17,000 from Serbia and 13,000 from Eritrea. Of these 28,000 refugees are from countries declared "safe" by the German Ministry of the Interior, besides Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia. It is well known that "welfare tourists", Roma populations who move to Germany only to avail its social benefits and therefore their applications are rejected automatically.
'Breathtaking' challenge
While the Bavarians have welcomed 20,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq in an unprecedented move only a few days ago, the German state has yet to take an official position on the issue. A steadfast German Chancellor Angela Merkel called this challenge "breathtaking" and tried to reassure German citizens that the crisis was manageable. The humane approach of the Bavarian people towards these refugees complicates the Schengen Agreement that dictates intra-EU movement of peoples across 26 countries.
Today, Europe is overwhelmed by the tsunami wave of refugees who await their fate on its southern borders and have flooded over into the core. These refugees are bound to cause major social, political, cultural, economic and demographic upheavals in an ethnically homogenous Europe. The consequences of this demographic distortion may result in a re-conceptualisation of a borderless Europe. The EU is synonymous with economic prosperity and trade regulations, which provide the cohesion of 'good friends in good times'. Till now, the strength of the EU has not been tested in a humanitarian crisis of this nature and magnitude. Europe's territorial integrity was not impacted on a major scale -- except for the Kosovo crisis and the collapse of Yugoslavia along with the USSR.
Whether the EU would emerge stronger as a politico-economic regional organisation or not after it copes with the recent refugee crisis based on common treaties and borders, remains to be seen. Importantly, the EU would have to formulate a border management policy related to Europe's outer perimeter which runs along the Mediterranean coastline from where most of the sea-borne refugees enter Europe from time to time.
In reality, it is difficult to adhere to this requirement since many refugees are not registered formally or even statistically considering Italy, Hungary and Greece have become chokepoints to cope with over 3,50,000 refugees and economic migrants this year. Evidently, their border control facilities have collapsed under the phenomenal pressure with multiple 'leaks' that threaten south-eastern Europe's border stability and have opened a Pandora's Box in Europe.
Most refugees seek to reach Germany, Denmark or Sweden as main target destinations owing to their strong social welfare systems. In a European context, the larger problem is that only some states like Germany are open to absorb refugees while other east European countries prefer to push these asylum seekers and economic migrants into the more prosperous states. Though the EU comprises 28 member countries, only some of them take their responsibility to manage the refugee crisis while others do not do so.
Today, Germany grapples with an unprecedented influx of refugees which could either be perceived as a boon or bane. Germany's demographic profile suggests a greying population that is starved of skilled human resources in several sectors which this flood of refu-gees could provide. However, this comes with a caveat in terms of social integration and internal security for Germany.
The emerging wave of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other West Asian countries are quite different from earlier refugee inflows given the magnitude of their numbers. It is ironical that Muslim refugees from Iraq and Syria choose to opt for Germany -- a part of Christian Europe. Their ethnic diversity makes them vulnerable to religious persecution in their home regions that compels them to exit. Therefore, to what extent would these refugees be able to adapt to a Christian-based culture in Europe? Germany is not new to refugees who come as political asylum seekers from various countries and cultural backgrounds. In the post-Second World War period, the trend was set by East German refugees who obtained political asylum in West Germany. However, their ethnic, linguistic and cultural commonality enabled them integrate easily.
Since then, a host of non-European refugees has entered Germany after reunification which included people from Tibet, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Albania, Eritrea, Somalia and Palestine who were assimilated into German society. Collectively, these non-European refugees form a miniscule minority of the German population, and therefore they posed no serious problem to their host country.
Germany is a refugee-friendly country due to historical reasons related to the Second World War. The post-war West German Constitution in order to make amends for the trauma of the Second World War crimes went out of the way to promote human rights. This is evident from Article 16a of the Basic Law grants victims of political persecution an individual right of asylum. The fundamental right of asylum thus has high priority and expresses Germany's willingness to fulfil its historical and humanitarian obligation to admit refugees.
The German Office for Immigration and Refugees recorded over 1, 73,000 new applications for asylum in 2014, a 58 per cent increase compared to the previous year. They have scrutinised almost 1, 29,000 files and Syria ranks highest with 40,000 refugees, followed by 17,000 from Serbia and 13,000 from Eritrea. Of these 28,000 refugees are from countries declared "safe" by the German Ministry of the Interior, besides Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia. It is well known that "welfare tourists", Roma populations who move to Germany only to avail its social benefits and therefore their applications are rejected automatically.
'Breathtaking' challenge
While the Bavarians have welcomed 20,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq in an unprecedented move only a few days ago, the German state has yet to take an official position on the issue. A steadfast German Chancellor Angela Merkel called this challenge "breathtaking" and tried to reassure German citizens that the crisis was manageable. The humane approach of the Bavarian people towards these refugees complicates the Schengen Agreement that dictates intra-EU movement of peoples across 26 countries.
Today, Europe is overwhelmed by the tsunami wave of refugees who await their fate on its southern borders and have flooded over into the core. These refugees are bound to cause major social, political, cultural, economic and demographic upheavals in an ethnically homogenous Europe. The consequences of this demographic distortion may result in a re-conceptualisation of a borderless Europe. The EU is synonymous with economic prosperity and trade regulations, which provide the cohesion of 'good friends in good times'. Till now, the strength of the EU has not been tested in a humanitarian crisis of this nature and magnitude. Europe's territorial integrity was not impacted on a major scale -- except for the Kosovo crisis and the collapse of Yugoslavia along with the USSR.
Whether the EU would emerge stronger as a politico-economic regional organisation or not after it copes with the recent refugee crisis based on common treaties and borders, remains to be seen. Importantly, the EU would have to formulate a border management policy related to Europe's outer perimeter which runs along the Mediterranean coastline from where most of the sea-borne refugees enter Europe from time to time.
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