right pane Topics

[webfact]

EU leaders clash over refugees

By Gabriela Baczynska and Robert Muller

 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki attend the Visegrad Group meeting in Brussels, Belgium, December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Olivier Hoslet/Pool

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two years after the Mediterranean migrant crisis blew a hole in the European Union, a tentative effort to patch up differences over what to do with refugees underlined continuing rifts among the bloc's leaders.

 

A free-wheeling discussion over a Brussels summit dinner that began on Thursday night and spilled into the wee hours of Friday was intended to clear the air and see if there was a way to reconcile opposing views on how to reform defunct asylum rules.

 

But leaders emerging from nearly three hours of talks made clear that while there was little of the angry passion of 2015, when a million people flooded into Greece and headed for Germany, the "frank and sober" discussion failed to blunt sharp rifts pitting some eastern states against many of the rest.

 

"We have a lot of work to do," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "The positions have not changed."

 

Divisions over how to share out relatively small numbers of refugees have poisoned relations in the EU, complicating efforts to present a united front in talks with London on Brexit and to agree an EU budget out to 2028.

 

New Polish and Czech leaders stuck to lines shared with Hungary and Slovakia that their ex-communist societies cannot accept significant immigration, especially of Muslims.

 

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called the debate "quite stormy" and told reporters that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had been "quite aggressive." But, he said, the eastern allies would not let the majority impose obligatory refugee quotas on them.

 

Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni were among those who demanded that all countries take in a mandatory share of people requiring asylum, who have been concentrated on the Mediterranean coast, or after chaotic movements across Europe, in the richer northwest of the bloc.

 

German officials said Merkel has been critical of the summit chair, Donald Tusk, a former Polish premier, who in an letter to leaders earlier in the week, said that a controversial scheme of the European Commission - the EU's executive arm - to relocate refugees around the bloc according to mandatory quotas had failed.

 

That echoed the complaints of the eastern sceptics but it irritated many western states and the European Commission itself.

 

Merkel said there was a broad appreciation for work on bolstering the bloc's common borders, which has sharply reduced the number of people arriving, notably through deals with Turkey and Balkan states to close off the migrant route through Greece.

 

But she said offers from the east of "selective solidarity" - the four central European states on Thursday offered Italy 35 million euros to help hold back African migrants in Libya - could not relieve EU members of a duty to help out their allies by taking in some of those refugees who do reach Europe.

 

"I made very clear that I am not satisfied with the fact that the rules we have are not working," she said. "Solidarity cannot just apply externally, but must also be internal."

 

One EU official, anxious to accentuate the positive in the discussions, said Tusk had succeeded in having an honest and open debate on the most contentious issues that would help EU leaders see where there was room for compromise.

 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he would not rule out ramming through mandatory relocation quotas by majority vote next year, something Tusk has been trying to avoid to prevent a repeat of the bitter rift a similar vote caused in 2015.

 

A diplomat from a country in favour of compulsory quotas said there could be a move to vote if there was no consensus in sight by the time leaders discuss asylum reform in June.

 

Gentiloni, preparing for an election in March, insisted that such mandatory relocation was vital and should be expanded. The leaders of Luxembourg and Belgium, among others, echoed his comments.

 

(Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Noah Barkin and Alastair Macdonald; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-15

[dick dasterdly]

"We have a lot of work to do," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "The positions have not changed."

 

I thought Merkel had given up on the open borders for anyone claiming 'refugee' status.  Apparently not, and she's still determined to force other EU countries into taking on their 'fair share' of her bad decision......

[simple1]

8 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

"We have a lot of work to do," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "The positions have not changed."

 

I thought Merkel had given up on the open borders for anyone claiming 'refugee' status.  Apparently not, and she's still determined to force other EU countries into taking on their 'fair share' of her bad decision......

How do you arrive at your opinion from the text of the OP? Nothing quoted which supports your conclusion.

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, simple1 said:

How do you arrive at your opinion from the text of the OP? Nothing quoted which supports your conclusion.

I quoted it in the first sentence.

[simple1]

24 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

I quoted it in the first sentence.

Incorrect. Merkel does not support "open borders for anyone claiming 'refugee' status".

Edited December 15, 2017 by simple1

[mlmcleod]

I suggest that the EU follow Australia's lead and send all of the refugees to an island until they can complete their qualifications for legal immigration.  Right now the mediterranean countries are facing the brunt of the refugee influx, especially Italy.  I am very sorry that their countries have been riddled with strife because of Muslim radicalism but it is their responsibility as citizens to correct those problems at home.  The rest of the world is not responsible because African and Muslim leaders are corrupt and brutal.  As a humanitarian gesture the refugees should be provided with temporary shelter until they can return home.  The only cure for Muslim radicalism is for Muslims to take control of their governments and find leaders who are interested in the life they lead in this world and not the next.  Sadly, Africa is a basket case that has not really done anything for the average African.  Almost every leader there runs a harsh dictatorship. I must still stress that the people get the government that they work for eventually.

Edited December 15, 2017 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[MaeJoMTB]

1 hour ago, mlmcleod said:

Sadly, Africa is a basket case that has not really done anything for the average African.  Almost every leader there runs a harsh dictatorship.

How is Thailand different?

(or Laos, or Burma, or the Philippines, or China?)

 

Good on the,

Polish, Czech, Hungary and Slovakia leaders who refuse significant immigration, especially of Muslims.

 

As for the UK share,

I hear the Orkney's have nice weather at this time of year, and plenty of sheep.

Edited December 15, 2017 by MaeJoMTB

[arithai12]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about who is a refugee, and who is an economic migrant.

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, simple1 said:

Incorrect. Merkel does not support "open borders for anyone claiming 'refugee' status".

 But she did, with her all welcome statements.

 

And has as been shown, many illegal economic migrant chancers jumped on that bandwagon as well as genuine refugees.

 

The point is Merkel wants to dictate to other countries that they must accept Muslim refugees who are mainly young men who based on prior behavior have little intention of assimilating into local culture, values and laws. She wants other countries to take their share of a problem she created. Although she backtracked due to the extreme bad reaction from the German electorate she has never apologized, never admitted her error and still tries to impose her view on other sovereign member states using the EC as a means.

 

 

[the guest]

Adopt the Australian way, it prevents deaths at sea, and sends the message not to come to EU.

[Ulic]

Obama's support of regime change in Syria combined with Merkel's pronouncement the Germany would welcome all refugees. Packistan Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and half of Africa jumped on the bandwagon. It does not matter that half of the refugees have had their applications turned down. They are not deported and remain in the EU. 

[simple1]

7 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 But she did, with her all welcome statements.

You are talking to past statements, not current policy. However, Merkel never supported the influx of economic refugees or asylum seekers who were not suffering under the UN definition of 'refugee'. As an example asylum seekers from the Western Balkans (at one time representing 40% of asylum seekers in Germany) were assessed by the German government as economic refugees and not granted refugee status.

Edited December 15, 2017 by simple1