The outcome of the emergency EU crisis summit on refugees was, at best, disappointing. EU interior ministers failed to reach an agreement on how to respond to the world’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. While they’ve recognised that a total of 120,000 refugees who have arrived in Europe must be distributed amongst member states (though this number underestimates the actual number of refugees who have arrived in Europe this year, which is nearer 380,000), they could not agree on the crucial point of how many each nation-state should receive.
Whilst EU governments dig in their heels, introduce heightened border controls, and build walls to barricade their nations, people are suffering, and dying as they undertake dangerous journeys to flee war and conflict. It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, this may be the greatest challenge the European Union has faced since it was founded, but it is not insurmountable.
Here are 5 things European governments can do right now to end the refugee crisis:
1/ Maintain search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean
On Sunday 13 September, at least 34 people drowned after their overcrowded boat capsized off a Greek island. These tragedies at sea have become all too common, as hundreds of thousands of men, women and children attempt to enter Europe to reach safety. So far, at least 2,600 people have died this way.
Thankfully, thousands of lives have been saved due to the EU’s decision to restart search and rescue operations. But these missions must respond to the rising scale of the problem, and recognise the immediate need to ensure these operations are adequately funded and resourced. The devastating photograph of the drowned Aylan Kurdi is evidence enough of the urgent need to act and save lives in the Mediterranean.
2/ Provide safe and legal routes into Europe
In the same way that a black market develops when certain goods are not available legally, people smugglers and traffickers will flourish when people cannot find safe routes out of conflict.
The risks are particularly high for children, many of whom have already suffered torture, abuse and exploitation, or who have arrived in Europe on their own. To ensure children and vulnerable people do not fall into the hands of dangerous smugglers, European nations should secure legal routes to Europe through issuing humanitarian visas, relaxing the process of reuniting family members, enabling private scholarship programmes and even student scholarship schemes. It is not illegal to seek refuge, so we must ensure desperate people reach safety, safely.
3/ Provide proper reception and support
Germany, Italy and Greece are under intense pressure to register thousands of refugees arriving in Europe. Despite temporarily closing its borders to monitor the flow of people from Austria, Germany has led the way in receiving refugees, accepting over 250,000 refugees since August alone. No country can bear this responsibility on its own in the long term, and therefore the EU as a whole must work together to provide more reception and support services that respect people’s dignity and human rights.
4/ Do more to relocate and resettle refugees - fast
EU leaders are doing too little too late to respond to the growing numbers of refugees arriving on the continent, and Monday’s meeting was no exception. While leaders refuse to commit to an adequate quota system, thousands of men, women and children are forced to wait in limbo in inhumane reception facilities, ill-equipped to manage the numbers of people arriving. Worst of all, increasing numbers of children are having to sleep rough as countries close their borders instead of providing assistance and shelter. This cannot continue, and EU leaders must reach an agreement to ensure that each member state welcomes its fair share of refugees.
5/ Tackle the root causes of unsafe migration
‘No-one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.’
These words by the poet Warsan Shire capture the desperation of people risking their lives to save their lives. People will make dangerous journeys for as long as what is behind them is more terrifying than what is in front. EU leaders must work to end the violence Syria that is pushing people to flee their home by placing international pressure on the parties engaging in the conflict, and those who support them.
We must also do our best to make sure people do not feel compelled to attempt such difficult and dangerous journeys. Most of the world’s 60 million refugees find protection in neighbouring countries without needing to embark on risky, crowded boats - the majority of Syrian refugees are now located in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Unfortunately, aid programmes to cater to this growing refugee population are severely underfunded, meaning more people will feel forced to go elsewhere. Recently, the World Food Programme had to suspend aid services to 200,000 refugees in Jordan because it simply did not have enough cash. Sustained aid will strengthen the humanitarian response to the flux of refugees flowing out of Syria, and also build the infrastructure in the region that will allow people to build stable lives.The UK has shown incredible generosity by funding 13.2% of the international response to the Syria crisis, but many European nations are yet to follow suit, and there is still much more work to be done.
The longer EU leaders take to act, the harder it will be to solve the crisis, and the more lives that will be unnecessarily lost. The current strategy is not working. These 5 critical steps are are our way out of inaction. It’s time for our leaders to step up their response to the biggest humanitarian crisis of our age.