Following the recent fires that destroyed the Moria camp in Greece, EU leaders have finally realized that they need to agree upon a long-term solution to the migration crisis that has engulfed Europe since 2014. Moria housed more than 12,500 migrants and refugees prior to its devastating fire on Sept. 9.

Merkel’s New Migration Policy Pitch

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushing for the bloc to introduce a mandatory system to manage migration, and it would require all 27 member states to participate in the scheme.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, referred to this plan as a “European solution to restore citizens’ confidence.”

The plan requires new compulsory pre-entry screening involving identity, security and health checks, and there will be a quicker asylum border process involving decisions within 12 weeks. There will also be quick returns for failed applicants.

Europe’s Population is in Decline

Nations that have refused to take in migrants are being provided with flexible options such as:

• taking in recent arrivals;
• ensuring that people who are refused asylum are sent back;
• providing immediate operational support.

It is understandable why the EU wants to take on more migrants despite the refugee crisis being a contributory factor toward the rise of radical parties in Europe and Brexit. As Ben Hall of the Center for European Reform suggests, Europe’s population is set to decline over the next 50 years. Italy will lose 28 percent of its population by 2050. In order to maintain its working age population, Italy would need to start importing more than 350,000 immigrants per year, or they would have to ensure that people are working until they reach the age of 75.

The Suggested System Will Have Many Problems

However, the compulsory system fails to do anything about the fact that all migrants will have to reside in Greece or Italy for some time. Their immediate arrival will strain those nations’ public services in the short-term, and there is no guarantee that these plans can prevent a repeat of the Moria camp fires.

This is despite the fact that the EU’s proposed plan is designed to ensure that each EU member state takes on their fair share of migrants.

The process of distributing migrants fairly could be time-consuming for the EU too. According to The Guardian, the European Commission is promising faster processes; it intends to implement a rule that all migrants should have health and security checks completed within five days.

The EU Does Not Have the Resources to Implement the System

Despite a promised pilot program in Greece, it is possible that the EU does not possess the resources to speed up slow procedures in Greece and Italy. This is because EU leaders slashed migration and border control spending by 27 percent when they struck a deal on the bloc’s seven-year budget, which will undermine their latest attempt to curb migration as they do not have the money for it.

Furthermore, a final deal is far from likely. The new system will be revised by the EU’s member states and by the European Parliament.

Also, no country is obliged to offer shelter to anyone, and it is certain that Poland and Hungary will continue to refuse to take in their fair share of migrants, even if the bloc can coerce them into helping in other ways. For example, Warsaw and Budapest may have to invest in reception centers for front-line states such as Greece.

The EU Needs More Than Internal Reform

The EU needs to go further than internal reform. German politician Jens Spahn told Politico that the bloc should support neighboring countries to prevent their citizens from migrating for economic reasons. It also needs to provide debt relief and fair trade to help its trading partners thrive in the future. But like with many of the EU’s decisions, they require agreement across the bloc, and that can never be guaranteed given its history.

The mandatory migration scheme may be based on good intentions, but a common refugee policy across 27 member states was always going to be problematic. Europe is a long way from witnessing an end to its migration crisis.

L'articolo The EU’s New Migration Laws are Unlikely to Solve Migration Crisis proviene da InsideOver.

In the early hours of September 9, the infamous Moria camp for asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesbos burst into flames. The motives and the exact conditions behind the incident are currently being investigated, but the fire raises some serious concerns for the migrants and asylum seekers now without a home as well as the local administration and the Greek government.

The Latest Moria Fire

The first points of fire across the camp were spotted on September 8 at approximately 2300 local time following tensions between groups of immigrants in the camp. Shortly after midnight the fire started spreading across the site and by early morning everything was utterly destroyed.

Thousands of residents of the camp swiftly fled the scene. No casualties have been reported for now, however there is no conclusive picture so far and there are serious concerns that there could have been grave injuries or deaths following the fire.

Firefighters Response and Aftermath

Dozens of firefighters and fire brigade vehicles have also promptly reached the camp and managed to get the fire under control before it could expand to other areas of the island. It should be noted here that several groups of migrants tried to block the firefighters from approaching the scene in an act of protest for the allegedly low living standards in Moria.

In the aftermath of the fire, German Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas characterized the incident as a humanitarian disaster and highlighted the full support of the European Commission towards Greece in terms of financial and humanitarian assistance. Maas also emphasized that the EU members should work together in good faith and quickly express their intention to receive migrants from the overcrowded Greek camps.

Local Grievances and an Unsurprising Disaster

This is not the first time that the camp in Moria has made the headlines. The camp has been probably the most serious trouble spot for the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum in the whole country. Since its very establishment several years ago as a Reception and Identification Center (RIC) the camp has always been overcrowded.

With an official capacity of approximately 3,000 people, the camp has reportedly reached a population of about 20,000 migrants and asylum seekers in several instances in the past. After constant efforts, this number has fallen to roughly 13,000 people, still significantly outnumbering the actual capacity.

Further to the high numbers of people based in the camp and the poor living standards, there has been another point of friction causing complaints and disappointment lately. Due to the renewed COVID-19 outbreak in Greece, and the numerous cases in the Moria camp, asylum seekers based in the facility have been quarantined since early September, as per the guidance from the Hellenic Ministry of Health.

A random check in Moria earlier this week, identified 35 new Covid cases out of 2,000 samples in the camp, confirming that approximately the 1.75% of the people in the camp could be potentially carrying the virus. Considering the weak hygiene infrastructure at the camp and the high risk of further contamination, those 35 individuals were instructed to self-isolate for the necessary time-frame.

This development was reportedly been the spark leading to the massive reaction of disobedience that eventually appears to have led to the fire. On the one hand several people complained about the self-isolation instruction that would temporarily keep some family members apart, while other aggressively responded to these complaints, which could put in danger the total population of the facility.

During and after the fire all the 13,000 asylum seekers proceeded to a massive uncontrolled exodus from the camp, moving to unknown locations, ranging from nearby mountainous areas to the capital town of Lesbos, Mytilene.

A Dual Threat and Severe Concerns of Greek Officials

Following the Moria fire Greek authorities from the local to the most senior level are on high alert. Shortly after the incident Greek ‎Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management Nicholas G. Hardalias announced that the island of Lesbos is entering a state of emergency for at least four months due to public health reasons.

Indeed, the totally unrestrained and un-monitored movement of an unknown number of COVID-19 carriers could be an infectious time bomb for the entire island of Lesbos. This potential medical disaster has alarmed the local authorities and medical officials, who are now running in a race against time to prevent a catastrophe.

But at the same time, there is another quite concerning geopolitical aspect of this fire for the Greek government. This incident comes at a moment where Greek-Turkish tensions are reaching new levels, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Possibility of a Fifth Column Inside Greece

Lesbos is an island in the northern Aegean Sea, critically located in the proximity of the Turkish mainland and a possible theater of operations in a potential armed confrontation between the two countries. The asylum seekers in the island made it to Greece through Turkey and have been based at the Moria camp until the fire in order to be identified and then have their asylum applications assessed.

This means that there is no efficient data for an unknown number of these people, and some of these individuals could be acting on behalf of Turkey.

The Greek government should always keep in mind that even a handful of well-trained operatives could easily manipulate a massive crowd of disappointed and angry people who find themselves trapped in a detention center for a long time period. Utilizing the common language and religion alongside simple technologies based on social media manipulation techniques and the power of image, just a few malicious actors could prompt a genuine local revolt.

Was the Fire Intentional?

The fact that the weather at the night of the incident was ideal for an out-of-control wildfire due to the strong winds (another fire was also reported in the western part of Lesbos near the town of Vatoussa at approximately the same time) raises further concerns, indicating the the burning of the camp could well have been intentional.

The Two-Front Assault Scenario

The scenario of a mobilization of angry asylum seekers on Lesbos and other islands appropriately equipped through covert logistics operations, combined with a coordinated attack from Turkish tactical forces would find the Greek Armed Forces fighting on two different fronts at the same time, posing an appalling threat for the country.

Due to this possible scenario Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for an urgent meaning with the Ministers responsible for the management of the developing crisis, including the Head of the Greek National Intelligence Service and the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff.

After several years of inadequate measures, Greece seems to be realizing the multi-dimensional challenge that the refugee crisis presents. Their actions from now on will prove if the Greek administration is ready to efficiently handle such a complex problem in these unprecedented times.

L'articolo Moria Fire Raises Serious Concerns for Greek Government proviene da InsideOver.