The situation of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean and the Channel remains one of the most discussed topics in the European press today. Indeed, the latest shipwreck in the Mediterranean has caused strong outpourings of emotion in Europe, and a feeling of helplessness. Wednesday’s shipwreck, which claimed more than 200 lives, has also stirred up tensions between the European Commission and EU member states.
In a joint statement, European Commission First Vice-President Timmermans, HRVP for Foreign Affairs Mogherini, and Commissioner Avramopoulos said that the EU is working hard to prevent tragedies at sea, La Stampa reports in Italy. “What we need now is the collective courage to follow through with concrete action on words that will otherwise ring empty,” they wrote. The EU is working hard on preventing such tragedies and has increased the funds for sea rescue operations threefold, added European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud. By urging “concrete action” from the EU leaders, the EC is clearly trying to justify itself amid a situation of near-panic at Europe’s borders in the face of a massive influx of migrants, Les Echos reports in France.
The Daily Telegraph indicates that Leoluca Orlando, the mayor of Palermo, has criticised the European response to the migrant crisis, which he describes as “a genocide caused by European selfishness”. In Cyprus, an editorial in Haravgi criticises the European Commission’s response to the crisis and states that “Europe wants to build fortresses and fences to remain ‘clean’”. However, in an opinion piece published in FAZ, Nikolas Busse denounces NGOs’ criticism of the European institutions. He argues that nobody forced the refugees to undertake these dangerous crossing and goes on to defend the EU and the Mediterranean countries, stressing that it is impossible to prevent every accident.
On the Calais situation, the debate also involves the EU’s role in the crisis. In the British Daily Express, Frederick Forsyth accuses the European Union of being responsible for the current migrant crisis in Calais, as it appears unwilling to enforce its own law requiring asylum seekers to settle in the EU member state in which they first arrive. The Huffingtonpost.com also insists that Europe “doesn’t need another anti-immigrant fence,” denouncing the current policy in Calais. The International New York Times argues that for the moment, “Britain’s response is seen by some critics as attacking the symptoms, not the cause”.
The European Commission is ready to give further financial help to France and the UK, but “up to now we haven’t received any particular request,” lamented the EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. The situation in Calais “plunges me into total despair,” he told the AFP in an interview on Wednesday, La Croix indicates. To solve this complicated crisis, several options are evoked in the media today. MEP Guy Verhofstadt has asked Donald Tusk to convene an emergency summit of the 28 EU member states to set up “secure entry paths” for asylum candidates, La Libre Belgique reports.
In the UK, The Times argues that the current debate is focusing on the wrong issue, and should instead be focusing on how to improve the quality of life of those in refugee camps around Syria so they no longer feel compelled to embark on perilous journeys to Europe. According to Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, interviewed by Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze, the EU must provide maximum support to the places where the problems initiate, like Syria and Iraq, in order to help restore order and peace. Similarly, French Minister for Development Annick Girardin argues in Le Monde that both countries of origin and host countries should work together towards long-term solutions to the migration crisis, without adopting naïve or demagogic stances.
Interviewed on France Inter, Frontex spokeswoman Izabella Cooper said that so far Frontex has still not received from member states the equipment it needs to fully conduct Operation Triton. “There is no doubt that Frontex must bolster its operations; we need more commitment from member states,” she said. In Greece, Efimerida ton Sintakton notes that EC President Jean-Claude Juncker did not exclude the possibility of renewing this autumn his plan to impose asylum-seekers quotas on EU member states.
©europeanunion2015
