Merkel’s Refugee Crisis

Chancellor Merkel’s response to the European migration challenges has thrust Germany into an ambiguous leadership role. Having taken the lead in welcoming refugees, Germany now has no option but to take the lead inside the EU in establishing a sustainable policy toward the refugees.

It is not just about setting up reception centers in Greece or the Western Balkans to regulate the flow of asylum seekers and economic migrants. Or about dealing with the smugglers who bring the refugees across the Mediterranean. Or about reappraising the EU’s entire panoply of development aid to its Southern neighborhood. It is about ending the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Libya—something that Merkel and other EU leaders have yet to address.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: European Commission Statement following the temporary reintroduction of border controls by Germany, particularly at the German-Austrian border, Brussels, 13 September 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/statement-european-commission-statement-following-the-temporary-reintroduction-of-border-controls-by-germany-particularly-at-the-german-austrian-border-brussels-13-september-2015/

ESO: Background information: The Breaking Point? Germany's Asylum System Struggles to Cope http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-breaking-point-germanys-asylum-system-struggles-to-cope/

ESO: Background information: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels, 14 September 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/justice-and-home-affairs-council-brussels-14-september-2015/

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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