the european union refugee crisis

The European Union Refugee Crisis

The European Union refugee crisis

The European Union refugee crisis relates to the immigrant issue that the EU faced at the start of 2015, which saw an increase in the number of refugees in the country. These refugees have migrated through the region, across the Mediterranean Sea, and into the EU. The vast majority of the applicants are asylum seekers. Notably, the European Union (EU) faced major refugee immigration in 2015 and 2016. (Council of Foreign Relations, 2016). Many of the refugees and immigrants streaming into the EU are fleeing terror threats and fighting in Syria and other conflict-prone countries including Afghanistan and Iraq. The devastating problem has led to the formulation of different measures that are directed at addressing the chaotic situation. EU has focused on identifying the underlining causes of the problem with attempts to solve the issue.

Increased humanitarian aid and relocation

Besides, more efforts have been directed towards increasing the humanitarian aid and relocation of the asylum seekers in the European Union. The immigration of the refugees has also resulted in security challenges, and EU is attempting to improve the security at its borders to curb the enormous immigration of refugees. The refugee crisis has notably presented the EU policymakers and leaders with greater challenges. The escalating refugee toll has presented to be a lasting impact on the EU nations and thus required quick resolutions through the formulation of immigration reforms. Therefore, the paper will discuss the EU refugee crisis background and implication, and the most affected nations by the problem. It will also reveal the responses to the crisis and discover the current refugee crisis image. Background and Implication of the EU Refugee Crisis

Background and Implication of the EU Refugee Crisis

The civil war has experienced in Syria dates back to 2011, and it has proven to be the wheel that fuels the huge immigration culminating into around 4.8 million registered refugees. These refugees flee their countries due to insecurity escaping the conflicts in their countries. More than 80% of these refugees are from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia and endeavor to reach EU (European Studies Center, 2015). The war conflicts in Syria lasted for six years and indicate no signs of coming to an end. These refugees encounter challenges in their migration process, and many children are unable to go to school. Many of the women also encounter sexual abuses and families are driven into massive poverty levels. 2.7 million Syrians escaped to Turkey in October 2016 leading to a sudden population surge of the refugees in the nation. These refugee numbers are devastating and have placed a critical burden on the economy and health sector of the nation. Turkey encounters an expenditure of about $8 million in its efforts to provide homes to the refugees. Many of the EU nations are currently experiencing considerable social, economic and political challenges due to the influx of immigrants. Countries like Hungary, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Sweden are critically struggling with challenges of financial support and then integration of the refugees into the society (European Commission, 2016). Anti-refuge sentiments have been declared by people protesting against the catastrophic phenomena citing that the issue has culminated into a huge budgetary allocation in attempts to control the problem. Undoubtedly, the challenge of the refugee immigration has significantly sparked growing fears in the entire EU, and the tensions have reached a degree of boiling point. Significant impacts have been noted in the EU security. The challenges that are posed by the refugee's impact on the European security. The security implications arising from the massive refugees coming to EU is an issued that is highlighted to be highly detrimental. There have been warnings that the migration of refugees is fundamentally cutting across the security of Europe and threatens the prosperity of the nations' security. There is the emergence of dividing lines in EU which are the refugee-related challenges. Menéndez (2016) argues that the phenomenon of refugee migration is likely to be a critical issue that will influence on the security for decades. Therefore, emphasis on the long-term solutions that will see the end of the conflict problem is highly welcomed. Europe is critically experiencing the refugee migration crisis as it has not been prepared to face the challenge. The EU external credibility and internal solidarity have been weakened due to the refugee crisis, and as a result, there has been an erosion of trust between the nations, which hinder the constructiveness, and effectiveness of partnership among the actors (Menéndez, 2016). Critical health implications also come as a result of the refugee immigration into EU. The Syrian Civil War along with violence in the regions of Iraq and Afghanistan has seen more than 1.011.700 refugees flee to Europe by 2015. In Europe, the refugee crisis has a considerable impact on the healthcare system. It has to lead to massive financial meltdown due to the high expenditure is driven at curbing the communicable disease from the refugees. It has also made the hospitals increase their budget by half, and necessary supplies like syringes, gloves, catheters, and cotton wool have been faced shortages. Many of the hungry, unwashed and exhausted children and women, rubbish and the waterlogged tents pose a significant health problem. Diseases such as pneumonia malaria have erupted and thus resulted in a public health crisis. Provision of primary health care to the refugees has to be a priority agenda of the EU as it will reflect social, humanitarian, and cultural factors of EU. Certainly, EU tries to formulate policies to respond to the challenge, but the problem proves to be too hard for it to bear. Overcoming the differences of interests and the opinions of various stakeholders is also a challenge. A historical context has been a critical factor affecting the resolution process. Schengen crisis and the Eurozone instability have diminished the self-confidence of EU together with a mutual struck in the member states. The weak political, leadership that is highly evident in EU and the emergence of anti-EU populist parties in the member states of EU has seen the widespread of European malaise. The absence of firm guidance from the institutions has continued the European refugee crisis. Germany is a nation that faces the brutal crisis arising from the refugees who come to the country in large numbers. The asymmetrical impact arising from the refugee crisis is an obstacle that does not seem to have a coherent and collective response (Sambaraju & McVittie, 2017). The refugee crisis indicates to be a crisis that is not likely to go away due to the EU's failure to get hold of the entire situation in a serious way. Despite the diplomatic efforts that have recently been renewed in EU, there remains a little hope of bringing up the end to constant conflicts in Syria, and thus refugee immigration is likely to continue. EU Most Affected Nations

EU Most Affected Nations

By 2015, Germany has received the highest number of asylum refugees, which is tabulated to be more than 476.000. The total number of refugees has been approximated to be over one million in Germany by 2015. The second nation that have registered higher immigrant is Hungary. Many of the refugees who have made their way through Greece and Hungary have had a total of 177.130 applications by the end of 2015. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has stated that there are over 1.011.700 immigrants who have got into EU in 2015 and 34.900 of these have come through the land. Sweden is also the third country that holds the highest number of immigrants - 280.000 has arrived into EU through the sea in 2014, and more than 3.770 immigrants are said to die in their attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2015. There are approximately 1.2 million asylum refugees who were living in EU in 2016. 51% of these were people below the age of 18 and 4.271 are the estimate of the number of deaths of the migrants who dies crossing the Mediterranean Sea in 2016 (Council of Foreign Relations, 2016). Responses of EU to the Refugees

Responses of EU to the Refugees

EU has tried in its capacity to respond to the refugees who flee their country in search of protection from the conflicts in their nations. Providing a humanitarian assistance and other monetary aid is one of the factors that EU tries to respond to the problem. EU has significantly dedicated more than 10 billion euros from the EU budget in the attempt to deal with the refugee crisis in 2016 and 2015. Numerous individuals arrive into EU seeking help and other aids such as food, clean water, and shelter. UE has financed projects dealing with significant humanitarian needs that are urgent to around 50.000 migrants that are hosted in Greece. EU also provides assistance to refugees in the migrants of the nations that are outside EU like Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey. Turkey is hosting around three million refugees, and 2.5 million of them are from Syrian. In the attempts to provide support to Turkish refugees, EU along with the member states provide around €6 billion in a dedicated facility between 2016 and 2018 (Shekhar et al., 2016). EU also aims at protecting the borders and lives at sea. EU has hastened its capacity in carrying out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and tackling criminal network. EU triples those available resources in helping save the millions of refugees and the "member states established the European Border and Coast Guard" in 2016 in attempts driven at reinforcing the security measures in the region and especially at the borders (Sambaraju & McVittie, 2017). There has been opening of new European migrant smuggling centers by the European Police Office. It is driven by the support of the member states and dismantles the criminal network that involves organized migrant smuggling. There are also relocation and resettlement operations of refugees. By September 2017, an agreement to relocate approximately 160.000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other nations in EU. By July 2016, 3000 people have been relocated to other nations. Besides, the EU aims at creating legal and safe ways for asylum seekers for them to enter EU and limit the aspects of trafficking and drug smuggling. Furthermore, a voluntary resettlement program of EU directs at transferring around 22.500 individuals from the outside to EU member states. The EU has also raised the rate for its return of irregular migrants who illegally stay in the EU. There is also an agreement with Turkey in March 2016 where the refugees may be returned to their nations by a return operation. EU has also focused at stopping the irregularities for it to control migration. It has set up reception centers in Italy and Greece to assist the authority in the management of the refugee immigration. There are also moves to register individuals that arrive at the EU nations and to coordinate the return of some migrants in the region. Reform moves in EU on the rules regarding asylum are addressed. EU has begun the development of policies that are geared at coping with the massive refugee immigrants. Current Refugee Crisis

Current Refugee Crisis

It is reported that since January 2016, EU has received more than 615.000 registered asylum applicants. Notably, the current situation of the asylum applicants projects a massive inflow of refugees into EU which is a factor that creates an alarm. The EU member states call for peacemaking measures particularly in the Syrian conflict and other nations like Iraq which account for huge refugee numbers. The EU President Jean-Claude Juncker further highlights the need for the establishment of European Union strategy for Syria to address the conflict. Additionally, in attempts to carry out a regulation on the asylum seekers, EU has to lead to the creation of European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) (Sambaraju & McVittie, 2017). The mandate of the body is to address issues of insecurity in the EU nation and come up with measures to address the external border immigration challenges. UE has also signed the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan that in March 2016 which particularly aimed at curbing the illegal entry of immigrants and refugees into EU. EU has also signed an agreement with Afghanistan in 2016, which has obliged the government of Afghanistan to permit the asylum seekers to go back to their country. Conclusion

Conclusion

To sum up, numerous refugees are migrating into EU seeking asylum and running away from conflicts. The tensions arising from the refugee crisis in EU has driven the implementation of policies, which are directed at responding to the problem. The response is aimed at lightening the burden that EU faces. Many of the immigrants who arrive into EU come to Germany, Greece, and Hungry. The union has implemented policies such as relocation and settlement along with giving them monetary aid. The refugees who get into EU are linked to conflicts and humanitarian tragedy. The abrupt increase in refugees in the region is attributed to the Syrian civil war and the unrests that are happening in the entire area of the Middle East. The increase in the number of immigrants poses a great challenge to the nations in EU notably Germany, Hungary, and Italy.

References

Council on Foreign Relations (2016).Refugees crisis in the European Union. Global conflict tracker. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from https://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/conflict/refugee-crisis-in-the-european-union

European Commission (2016). The EU and the refugee crisis. European Commission. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/com/factsheets/refugee-crisis/en/

European Studies Center (2015). Resources on the European migration crisis for teachers and students. European Studies Center. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/system/files/resources/images/Educator%20Resources_Migration_Final.pdfGuild, E., Costello, C., Garlick, M., & Moreno Lax, V. The 2015 refugee crisis in the European Union.

Krsteska, M. (2015). The European Union and the migrant and refugee crisis in Europe. The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention. http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/ijsshi/v2i12.01

Menéndez, A. (2016). The refugee crisis: Between human tragedy and symptom of the structural crisis of European integration. European Law Journal, 22(4), 388-416. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12192

Sambaraju, R., & McVittie, C. (2017). The European Union and the refugee “crisis”: Inclusion, challenges, and responses. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 27(2), 99-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/casp.2306

Shekhar, A., Barkbu, B., et al . (2016).The refugee surge in Europe: Economic challenges. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2016/sdn1602.pdf