EU states must reach agreement on refugees: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Paolo Raffone, secretary general of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, about Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticizing Europe’s response to ongoing refugee crisis gripping the continent, saying the European governments’ reaction to the problem has resulted in a crackdown on basic freedoms.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Give us your thoughts on this recent report by Human Rights Watch.

Raffone: Well the situation in Europe concerning the asylum seekers is really shameful and very messy. Basically there is no common ground among the 28 member states. The limited number of states that were part of the so-called Schengen agreement which was allowing the freedom of movement across the borders of the members has been de facto suspended until September which means a long period in which the check at the borders will be again active for everybody including European travelers.

This is really a very bad news basically also what is happening in Germany with high degree of hysteria around the refugees who have been welcomed initially in the country is giving the sense that the governments are not capable to cope with the situation. The signals that come even from Germany of the rise of the right-wing on these issues, is a very worrisome signal and this is because of the weakness of the current governments all over the bloc of the 28 member states.

The European Commission has put forward some possible solutions but the European Commission has no direct competency on this matter. So it is the council of the member states which means the 28 governments that have to find an agreement and so far there is no serious, viable and sustainable agreement to allocate and receive the refugees in Europe.   

Press TV: HRW has also urged the European nations to adopt a program to better resettle the refugees. Europe has heard similar calls from various rights groups and organizations to better handle the issue of asylum seekers to Europe. What do you think are the contingency plans that European countries could have for the coming years?  

Raffone: As I was mentioning, the European Commission has proposed a very limited, reasonable and easy to apply plan for the resettlement within the European countries but the member states have not agreed upon it. So the commission has no power to impose this plan to the government.

The European member states’ governments are responsible for the lack of cohesion in a common policy in the field of refugees and in a plan of resettlement of these refugees among the states. We have basically each country moving on its own and deciding who should come in, if they come in under which conditions. I mean this is really the end of the state of law, we could say, in the field of refugee rights.  

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