Essay: Member States’ Resistance against Burden-Sharing

Abstract
The Refugee Crisis started in 2015 when the inflows of migrants became enormous. Europe’s outside borders cannot keep the asylum-seekers outside, but in this stream of migrants are people with other intentions instead of finding shelter. This has brought complications within the EU. Member States of the European Union conducted their own policy due to the absence of a common solution even though it is in violence with EU law. Member States feel like they owe to their people that they have to do whatever is necessary for the benefit of their country. The time has come in which the Member States have to either come to an agreement or share the burden voluntarily.
Keywords: Refugee crisis, Dublin Regulation, EU, Policy, Schengen, Migrant, Asylum-seeker, Burden-Sharing.
Member States’ Resistance against Burden-Sharing
In the 1951 Refugee Convention the definition of a refugee was determined. The convention was mainly about the status of refugees and the codification of the international right. About sixty years later, Europe is facing the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
From the beginning of the Arab Spring, a lot of irregularities have been the case in the Middle East leading to an enormous inflow of refugees in Europe in 2015.
The Refugee Crisis on its own
It is in the spring of 2011 as the conflict in Syria started, government stands against several forces in order of capturing leadership in the region. When the circumstances changed dramatically due to the Syrian civil war, locals were leaving the country in an attempt of finding safety. People from Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran followed the stream due to violence, torture, and forced labor . The Syrian and Eritrean and Syrian people have a prima facie refugee status which basically means that the circumstances in their countries are that obviously deteriorated that they are ensured admission to safety.
The situation in Europe
As refugees found their way through Turkey or made the dangerous journey over sea they entered Europe’s border countries and landed in Greece and Italy. These countries faced financial difficulties in previous years and additionally they were, due to the enormous amount of asylum-seekers flowing into Europe in 2015, not able to register all of the refugees leading to administrational problems and thereby thousands of refugees illegally entering Europe. From here the refugees took the path to Northern Europe via the Western Balkan Route. The stream of people heading to prosperous Northern Europe did not only contain refugees, but also economic migrants who just wanted a better life, and people with terroristic motives. The last two groups make the whole crisis more complex.
Aversion of the Member States
The refugee crisis made people of the Member States think like they are being treated unfair. Europeans are skeptical towards the inflow of ‘refugees’ After the Paris Attacks and the fact that the majority of the refugees is Muslim , and the financial deterioration . These happenings have led to the upswing of extreme-right parties. The parties which currently have authority know that they have to adjust, quit political correctness, and listen to their people in order of maintaining their position.
Free Movement of Persons
The European Union in its current form was founded on several values and principles . The initial reason for creating the Union was to prevent any new conflicts as a result of the previous wars. Over the years the main objectives were updated, but the scope was to have a stable political area, economic growth, and an interconnected Europe .
The Schengen Agreement stands for the region in which there is free movement of persons . The scope of this area is to harmonize Europe, the removal of internal borders, and police and judicial cooperation. The Schengen Borders Code is has an exception in case of refugees, resulting in accession of refugees within the Schengen area. Member States at the internal borders are not allowed to build fences, so asylum-seekers can enter the area without authorization and apply for asylum in any country. Countries are allowed to put border control temporarily, but Member States keep checking their borders, which violates the Schengen Agreements . Member States would choose national security over European Law, which is a sign that changes are necessary in order of ensuring national security by the European Union.
Division between Member States on refugees
As soon as refugees come into the Union the distribution of people is managed through the Dublin Regulation . This system works with EURODAC and together these systems are made to let refugees integrate within the European Union. However, the system has some drawbacks and therefore needs to be reconsidered.
According to the Dublin System, the country, where applicants claim asylum, should process the refugees in their country. The routes of the refugees are from the Mediterranean and therefore most of them strand on Greece, Italy and also Hungary. These countries become overfull of asylum applications. This system can be seen as unfair and it leads to resistance of Member States since they have to cover for the issues, because of their geographical position within the EU. It is important that the regulation will be changed to tackle this inequality amongst Member States. So far, it has led to Member States building fences , rejecting Islamic asylum-seekers , and by not contributing to the Dublin Regulation, Member States let asylum-seekers misuse the Schengen area. The system as it is today does not work. However, it is a step towards a common European Asylum Policy.
Difficulties reaching possible agreements.
Decisions about this issue are made in the Council . Member States can block certain proposals, because of the voting system . This was also the matter for a relocation decision. Member States voted against the decision, because the relocation system would make it more attractive for refugees to come to Europe. Additionally, Member States are not willingly to adopt the decision, because they are simply better off without the refugees.
In order of coming up with a solution, it is important that Member States will share the burden of each other which is also recognized by EU law . This in the form of taking refugees and give monetary and humanitarian assistance to the Member States which need it. In addition, national policies should be more coordinated with EU law as reference. If countries should have more coordination in national policies, it is important that the framework is consistently interpreted by the Member States which contains more uniform policies amongst Member States. Open a safe route for refugees to sanctuaries. This will help tackling a part of smugglers practices. A smoother route to the refugees’ destination will lead to better inflows and is easier to control. Improving the fingerprinting system of refugees could be helpful. Lastly, establish return programs for rapid return for invalid migrants. Overall, the key lies within the problem of Burden-Sharing between the Member States. If countries would help each other more seriously, the crisis can be solved better.