politics, economy and employment & labour
More than 1.2 million migrants have come to Europe in the past year – most of them from Syria. One year after the ‘long summer of migration‘ in 2015, Europe is still facing two severe problems: first, the lists of safe countries of origin differ in many states of the EU and secondly, further large-scale […]
Europe’s refugee crisis is far from solved, but there are signs that the agreement finalized by the European Union and Turkey on March 18 is reducing the flow of refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece. According to Frontex, the European border-management agency, the 26,460 migrants detected crossing the EU’s external borders in the eastern […]
Germany’s Dutch neighbors are following its refugee debate closely and with a mixture of admiration, astonishment and confusion. Before “Cologne” we had great respect for the German “welcoming culture” and Angela Merkel’s courageous “We can do it”. One felt the painful contrast between a Germany that wanted euphorically to show off its good side and […]
German social democrats have been labeled “panic-stricken” and “self-contradictory” in the refugee crisis. As we in Germany and the EU face by far the biggest challenge for decades, a proper answer is due here. One thing first: Practically everybody I have spoken to in the last few weeks and months expresses contradictory feelings and thoughts. […]
The idea that oil wealth can be a curse is an old one – and it should need no explaining. Every few decades, energy prices rise to the heavens, kicking off a scramble for new sources of oil. Then supply eventually outpaces demand, and prices suddenly crash to Earth. The harder and more abrupt the […]
I have always been a strong believer that geography determines one’s worldview (I think it is de Gaulle who is credited for saying that “history is applied geography”). When you spend one month in Europe traveling to various places, you just cannot avoid the biggest issue in Europe today: migration. So let me go briefly over […]
Today’s global refugee crisis recalls the period immediately after World War II. By one contemporary estimate, there were more than 40 million refugees in Europe alone. These “displaced persons,” as they were called at the time, were forced to flee their homes because of violence, forced relocation, persecution, and destruction of property and infrastructure. The dire […]
The Mediterranean migration crisis has delivered two critical lessons. First, Europe and the international community have grossly inadequate systems for protecting vulnerable migrants. Second, in the absence of such systems, populist leaders will prey on fear to gain political support, undermining the liberal, tolerant societies that have taken 70 years of hard work to build. […]
TV news, newspaper headlines, political speeches and tweets used to deliver foci and outlets for public anxieties and fears are currently overflowing with references to the “migration crisis” – ostensibly overwhelming Europe and portending the collapse and demise of the way of life we know, practice and cherish. That crisis is at present a sort […]
Most post-WWII conflicts are sparked and fuelled by geopolitics though many a European citizen has little knowledge about this. True, the influx of people from Syria and elsewhere into Europe is unprecedented in recent history. This has brought about bitter political standoffs between governments and political parties. Territorial governance for frontier countries such as Turkey, […]
As European leaders grapple with the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers, Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has repeatedly expressed his belief that the mostly Middle Eastern and predominantly Muslim refugees represent a grave threat to Europe. Orbán has argued that the ‘migrants’ (he refuses to acknowledge that most of them may be genuine refugees) represent […]
I do admire and fully support her policies and her strong humanitarian commitment in this refugee crisis. Opening up the country for a million people instead of building fences to keep them out has made her the woman of hope for many refugees. Firmly putting humanitarian help as the imperative against Islamophobic and xenophobic hate […]
