Although Germany and Sweden are not front-line countries exposed to immigration, they were among those receiving the largest number of asylum seekers in 2014.
More than half of the pregnant immigrant women seen by a medical charity in European clinics lack access to basic healthcare and permission to reside, Doctors of the World said on Monday (18 May).
EU refugee quota plan is already crumbling
The European Commission’s plan to introduce EU-wide binding refugee quotas appears to be falling to pieces already after France and Spain voiced their criticism.
In reaction to the refugee tragedies, the EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to launch a naval mission in the Mediterranean. Pending a corresponding UN mandate, the mission will begin destroying smugglers’ boats as of June. The operation is worth a try, some commentators believe. Others criticise that it will only fight the symptoms of the crisis rather than the causes.
The EU’s foreign ministers are planning a naval mission in the Mediterranean, while the European Commission has proposed a quota system for distributing refugees which has met with opposition from a number of member states. Europe must use force if necessary to stop the mass immigration of economic refugees, some commentators urge. Others describe this policy of shutting Europe’s doors to refugees as inhumane.
More than 300 slavery and migration scholars respond to those advocating for military force against migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean. This is no slave trade. Where is the moral justification for actions that cost lives?
Public intellectuals in the EU should help to reimagine the meaning of democracy by questioning the division between citizen and migrant.
In expecting social movements in the post-socialist countries to follow the same repertoire of action as, for instance, in western Europe or North America, we risk missing out on important forms of collective action.
Italy abolished Mussolini-era laws restricting internal mobility in the 1960s, yet troubling continuities exist between these regulations and current efforts to control Italy’s migrant population.
Should a serious migration crisis erupt as a result of conflict escalation in Ukraine, the odds are that the V4 would need assistance through exactly the kind of EU solidarity mechanism they now oppose.
(note: this is a counterfactual – just in case you’re reading it after October 2015!)
Does it make sense for the Left to participate in a race between two conservatives? Should we leave home and vote for the harmless and bland Komorowski, or should we allow for a victory by the Law and Justice candidate, Duda?
Alain Supiot and Emilios Christodoulidis discuss the questions of solidarity and the protection of work in Greece. Français.
Nobody can tackle IUU fishing alone: Will opportunities for global leadership be grasped?
Those who doubted the potential of the European Union’s Council Regulation 1005/2008 (the IUU Regulation) to change the laissez faire culture that has been prevalent for too long in respect of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities inside and outside EU borders have had plenty of food for thought over the past four and a half years. In the time since the IUU Regulation came into force, the yellow card warning system, followed up on occasion by a trade-suspending red card, have seen a significant change in the administrative practices of a number of fish producing countries. Most importantly, the IUU Regulation has placed IUU fishing high in the agendas of nations that had previously not been predisposed to delve into the issue.
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.