by Anna Triandafyllidou, member of the BoD of SolidarityNow and professor at the European University Institute

The refugee crisis has gone into a new phase in the last days after the unilateral decision of Austria to call a coordination meeting with Balkan countries and effectively block its borders creating a cascade effect down to the FYROM Greek border. As Austria has severely limited the entry of people seeking international protection to a few tens per day, it has not only violated the terms of the Geneva Convention but also undermined all efforts of Germany, Italy, Greece and the European Commission to find a common European solution to the crisis.

What is most problematic in the move of Austria is less its not holding the EU line. What is truly puzzling and worrying is the overall policy of the Central Eastern European countries seeming to believe that if they keep their eyes tightly closed, the ‘problem’, that is the refugees, will disappear. This denial of reality reminds one so strongly of the attitude and policy of southern European governments in the early 1990s when the citizens of these same countries that now close their borders (the Central European countries) were migrating en masse to both western and southern Europe, mostly without documents. Italy, Greece and Spain at the time also seemed to think that if they denied reality (notably that this was part of a much wider geopolitical transformation that was unstoppable and that migrants were there to stay because their problems at home would not be fixed overnight), tightened border controls and facilitated expulsions, the ‘problem’ would disappear.

What was the result? 7-10% of the resident population in southern Europe are migrants but their integration process has been tumultuous and difficult. And this has been a loss for all involved: the migrants who have fought with state bureaucracies and worked without documents for many years, the welfare and tax systems who lost revenue, the 1.5 and 2nd generation that are still striving to become citizens – perhaps it was only migrant smugglers and unscrupulous employers who profited! Is this what we want to happen today? Why repeat a similar mistake of short-sightedness?

The refugee crisis will not last for years on end but it is predictable that 2016 will be a ‘hot’ year for arrivals as the situation in Syria is difficult and bombing has escalated. The EU and particularly Central and Eastern Europe is facing a dire demographic situation and an unsustainable welfare state future if its working population continues to decline. Austria is a country with low unemployment and Poland has continued growing during the Eurozone crisis years. The current policy appears to be knee-jerk reaction by some conviction that these countries are ethnically homogenous (sic) and should remain that way. Indeed again it reminds so much the political debates of southern Europe in the early 1990s…

A response to the current refugee crisis requires however a comprehensive strategy and a careful analysis of the data: Currently of the people arriving in Greece, only 45% are Syrians, nearly 30% are Afghans and 18% Iraqis. In addition 35% of arrivals are children, 45% men and the rest are women. A response to this situation requires:

A system of relocation quotas across Europe to distribute people is necessary.
A transfer of knowhow from northern and western countries that have worked with migrants and refugees for decades should also be activated – a European Peace Corps of NGO workers that would bring this know-how to the EU countries with lesser experience could be an idea here.
Relocation and integration would give work to many young persons in the receiving countries and also make sure the human capital of refugees and of their children would not be lost.

In addition a foreign policy is necessary which includes an EU Turkey deal but also a more far reaching strategy. There is a need to involve other countries in the region, particularly Lebanon and Syria. There is a need for research and analysis of data to understand whether what we witness is secondary moves or asylum seekers from neighbouring countries or arrivals directly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Last but not least, the USA, Canada and Australia should be involved through the UN in a wider resettlement process. These are the solutions to the crisis not closing our borders and closing our eyes.

The article was published on the HuffingtonPost Blog, Greece.