By Mirjam van Reisen* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint
BRUSSELS (IDN) – With the 28-nation EU desperately trying to find a solution to the unprecedented inflow of people seeking international protection and a better life, the size of the problem and the political battlefield are seriously damaging European cooperation and undermining citizens’ trust in the European project.
However, the proposals presented by the European Commission six months ago were reasonable and fair. Strengthening EU’s diplomacy to resolve the Syrian conflict, stepping up assistance to the countries neighbouring Syria, reinforcing external border controls and relocating 40,000 refugees based on a fair distribution key – all these made complete sense and could have been an adequate answer to the situation, at that point in time.
But Member States didn’t play ball. The shameful lack of solidarity, pure selfishness and political short sightedness of a number of (especially new) Member States frustrated any attempt to manage the situation in a reasonable and serene way. Despite all the (European) Councils, precious time has been lost and the situation today is worse than ever before, threatening to hurt the very fundaments of the EU.