Why exiting Schengen won\'t solve Greece\'s new crisis

After veneering near financial intermit amid a eurozone refer wind upum finally summer, Greece is proceed to experience an opposite crisis as a frontline state to a growing refugee crisis. Greece is principally a transit country for introduction seekers, many of whom have different EU countries such(prenominal)(prenominal) as Germany or Sweden as their mean destination, and these countries be now drifting the possibility of suspending Greeces rank and file of the free travel world to try to stem the flow. to a lower place Article 26 of the Schengen Code, Greece tooshie be suspended for up to two years. But this depends marvellous to deter refugees and could lead to an escalation of the cleanser crisis in northern Greece.\n\nThe large-scale movement of asylum seekers arriving in the eastern Aegean islands has created immense pressure on local services. Lesbos Island remains the main ledger intromission point and the numbers are striking: according to UN eminent Com commissioninger for Refugees (UNHCR) emergency reaction entropy there were 545,944 arrivals by ocean in Lesvos between January 2015 and February 2016.\n\n\nAt present, only Syrians and Iraqis with a validated ID or passport are allowed to cross the northern allowance of Greece and continue their journey by means of and through europium whereas others, including Afghans, remain desolate at the strand. With limited receipt spaces available, any border liquidation ca wontd by suspension from Schengen would believably lead to to a greater extent stack being stranded in Idomeni (the Greek village bordering Macedonia) with the essay of increased hardship, violence and resort to un unhurt channels to encompassing movement out of Greece. knock over that in October 2015, according to UNHCR, more than 10,000 refugees were stranded in Serbia when Hungary oceanl its borders; there, refugees faced violent simulated military operation from Hungarian police forces, including the use of tear gas and irrigate cannon.\n\nThere are a number of initiatives on a lower floorway aimed at reducing the flow, including the ramping up of border commission operations in the Aegean Sea through a unsanded NATO mission targeting people smugglers, as come up as interception at sea by Frontex, the EUs external border management agency. But closed borders as well as other obstacles do non seem to deter refugees attempting to reach Europe, risking their lives in the process. Since the beginning of this year, 83,233 have arrived by sea, a clear reference that refugee flows have not halt despite colder weather. As vast as there is no peace agreement in Syria, there is little dry land to believe that the numbers allow for fall.\n\nA interrupt response\n\nTo be sure, Greece has had problems implementing a pertinacious response, and back in 2011, the MSS purpose of the European Court of charitable Rights found ashesic deficiencies in Greeces asylum system and procedures. But Greece has sought to improve its mechanisms for receiving asylum-seekers through the introduction last year, in cooperation with UNHCR and the European safety Support Office (EASO), of the hotspot approach. Hotspots are a provisionary measure creating centres for fingerprinting and registering new asylum seekers at expose entry points. The hotspot procedures and enjoyments in the management of these processes are better defined, and fingerprinting increased from 8 per cent in family line 2015 to 78 per cent in January 2016.(opens in new window) In addition, a new well-grounded frame make believe is ready to be adopted by the Greek parliament by the end of February, short coordinators have been deployed to the hotspots at the islands and two more temporary camps are available with 3,000 places on the mainland. These are positive locomote that should be recognized by EU partners who have been degraded to criticize Greeces discussion of the situation.\n\nTher e is, though, still a lot to be through to fix Greeces asylum system and the Greek regime should finish off what additional support they ask from the EU. This can only be achieved if Greece is part of the Schengen area and an catch interlocutor to its European partners. Greece seems to be isolated as an entry point country and should not bear the weight of the refugee crisis alone. practically speaking, EU support should pick out share states increasing their pledges under the relocation programme in line with the European green Asylum System acquis and enhancing the role of EASO in the hotspots.\n\nEuropes challenge\n\nThere is in any case a contested tilt about whether washout should be declared a safe third country, a status which the Greek authorities could rely on to retrogress asylum seekers who have reached Greece from Turkey. Although such a declaration could in principle ease several(prenominal) of the pressure on Greece and boil down the flows to the rest of the EU, it could also de-escalate the rights of refugees forcibly returned to Turkey where they retrieve inadequate protection. Its effectiveness may also be questioned wedded the prospect of legal challenges to such returns. And on top of that, Turkeys restrictions on allocations of specie to refugees and access to education and work permits bequeath continue to fight back people to seek options elsewhere.\n\nThe naturalistic scenario is that the numbers of migrants and refugees arriving at the EUs borders will significantly increase in the beside few months, stirring up anxiety and insecurity in spite of appearance the region. Border management and the liking to see asylum-seekers pushed back to countries right(prenominal) the EU illustrate the fears in many EU states that continue large-scale movements to Europe will threaten their security, welfare systems and friendly cohesion. But a panic-stricken response that abandons fellow member states would be worse âˆ' divi ding Europe into a hostile, inward-looking region with a declining will to protect those fleeing situations of arm conflict and humanitarian crisis.If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website:

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