The restoration of border controls by Germany at all its land borders is a severe blow to the European policy of managing migration, according to Martin Ehl, a columnist and European affairs expert for the Czech daily “Hospodarske Noviny”.
For the first time in quite a while, I spent a few days in Germany last September. A brief stay that reminded me of the stark contrast between political rhetoric and economic reality. In Germany, just like elsewhere in Europe, including in our own Czech Republic, the situation is particularly palpable concerning sensitive political issues, such as the influx of migrants.
Let me give you a very concrete example: in a hotel room that clearly could not operate without the work of foreign cleaning staff and cooks, on the evening of my arrival, I closely examined the news about Germany reinstating border controls. This measure had been announced earlier that day by the government of Olaf Scholz, alarmed by the rise of the far-right in the elections.
In one of the wealthiest regions of Germany, the triangle connecting Frankfurt, Bonn, and the Luxembourg border area—roughly the states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland-Palatinate—you will find no Germans willing to fill these types of jobs. Another example is that the winemakers in the Moselle and Rhine regions would also face a likely insurmountable problem if they had to forgo the cheap labor from Poland and Romania to carry out their harvests.
Discouraging New Arrivals
At the same time, a certain nervousness remains distinctly palpable. This is a result of the consequences of the open borders in 2015 for refugees from non-European, predominantly Muslim countries. No one will openly admit this, as political correctness works very well on the surface. However, this is why strong measures, such as the establishment of new border controls, must be imposed, thus shifting the pressure onto neighboring countries.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk immediately reacted to this decision by openly expressing his thoughts to the Germans, later joined by his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose country is also facing an increasing influx of immigrants. A “unilateral abolition of Schengen” cannot be the solution. Germany has embarked on this path mainly for domestic political reasons, without regard for its neighbors. Seen from Berlin, the concern lies elsewhere: federal elections will take place in a year.
Last spring, the European Parliament adopted a “migration pact” meant to come into effect in two years. This reform foresees more effective controls at the external borders of the Schengen Area and a quicker return of rejected asylum seekers to their countries of origin. With these new conditions, the European Union (EU) aims to deter newcomers more than to welcome them with open arms. Nevertheless, the wealth, security, and stability of Europe will continue to attract tens of thousands of people willing to risk their lives on makeshift boats at sea or to cross barbed-wire barriers on land.
Populists and nationalists, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who erected border barriers as early as 2015, are on the rise. Now, Budapest even wants to compel Brussels to reimburse the funds spent on protecting its external border.
Migration and the efforts to combat it are ultra-sensitive political, social, and societal issues that can ignite passions from both proponents of “the only true Europe” and human rights defenders who stand by refugees fleeing war, drought, and poverty in hopes of a better life. Yet the reality is that we are reaching a point where the measures taken to secure the EU’s external borders reflect Europe’s actual will – accustomed to gentler methods over the past decades – to resort to force to ensure its security. The world around us has changed radically.
EU Supporters in a Deadlock
Thus, the two major authoritarian neighbors of the EU, Russia and Belarus, are using refugees as a living weapon; Finland, for instance, is reacting to this practice by strengthening its border protections. “The trend is to push back refugees who are being exploited this way,” recently acknowledged its president, Alexander Stubb.
Notably, filmmaker Agnieszka Holland directed a film (Green Border) about the controversial methods used to protect the EU’s external border between Poland and Belarus. This film was meant as a critique of the previous Polish conservative government and aimed to influence last year’s elections. However, according to reports from Polish media since the arrival of a new liberal and pro-European government, Polish border guards are now employing more or less the same methods of border protection as they did during the filming of the movie.
Hence, EU supporters find themselves at an impasse. They wish to maintain a common project that would give Europe a chance to preserve its prosperity in globally challenging times, while being compelled to meet a fundamental condition for maintaining security: protecting its borders. The German example suggests that the traditional approach of allowing each state to ensure its own security and protect its own interests is prevailing. For the future of the common European project, this is certainly not a good sign.
