Can Germany鈥檚 EU refugee quotas ease the European migration crisis?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ambitious plans for helping hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees and the Middle Eastern countries hosting them, .
Ms.聽Merkel is calling on the European Union (EU) to adopt 鈥渃ompulsory and permanent quotas for sharing the distribution鈥� of asylum-seekers. Over half of EU countries are opposed to the plan. One of the proposals coming out of Berlin and Brussels involves an arrangement between the EU and host countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt 鈥� currently hosting over 4 million refugees among them 鈥� which would be expected to humanely provide asylum for remaining refuges after sending 鈥渓arge but unspecified鈥� numbers to Europe. Refugees who stay behind or get sent back would be accommodated in EU-funded camps.
One of Merkel鈥檚 chief priorities is improving living conditions for the dislocated, most of whom are fleeing war-torn Syria, where an estimated in the conflict that forced over half of the country鈥檚 population into desperate, and dangerous exodus. The German proposal would guarantee safe travel for the vulnerable refugees.
According to Amnesty International 鈥� the non-governmental organization that works for global human rights 鈥� the United Nations' humanitarian aid campaign for the crisis is only 40 percent funded. In Lebanon, refugees receive 鈥渓ess than half a dollar a day for food assistance,鈥� and over 80 percent of refugees in Jordan are below that country鈥檚 poverty line. Such dismal numbers mean the German plan would cost billions, which Merkel wants to raise with a 鈥渟pecial,鈥� EU-wide levy to account for the hole that centralized aid would leave in the EU budget.
Merkel's proposal would also 鈥淓uropeanise鈥� control of the EU鈥檚 external borders, which entails national governments partially relinquishing authority and giving relevant powers regarding the admission, detention, and deportation of asylum-seekers to EU bodies like the Frontex border agency. What this involves exactly remains unclear, though, for the 26 nations in the Schengen passport-free travel zone, it may mean more compromise and frustration already felt by some Europeans, including many Germans.
According to the international NGO Human Rights Watch,
鈥淭he rising number of asylum seekers to Germany has been met with anti-migrant protests and some incidents of Government statistics revealed a stark increase in hate crimes against asylum seekers and asylum centers in 2014. Reforms to the asylum system lifted the controversial ban on in-country travel for asylum seekers after three months and eased access to the labor market.鈥�
Internally, Germany聽is enacting policies to address the nearly 800,000 newcomers expected to arrive this year. The German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Friday that measures intended to accelerate the country's handling of the migrant influx and make it easier to deport rejected asylum applicants will take effect this weekend. The number of deportations will rise, said de Maiziere, who didn't give specifics, but did note there have been 11,000 deportations so far this year, and four or five times as many people left voluntarily.
