A Detailed Exposition on Refugee Crisis in Europe

The research undertaken by the researcher will briefly elucidate and explain the refugee crisis of Europe and how it took shape and the background of the crisis. The researcher would understand the crisis by analysing it through the scale and turn of events and how various routes were created through various countries to enter Europe. The researcher would further dwell into a seven part study to understand the crisis in depth and would interpret how each step analyses the crisis in a better and structured way.

The refugee crisis in Europe is an issue of tremendous importance and for us to understand the essentiality of it the researcher would elucidate upon the key guidelines and policies introduced by the European Union and the key notes given by the UNHCR. Further to understand the crisis in a more intensive format the researcher would analyse each country affected by this crisis and how every country has taken shape through this. The researcher also believes that when we talk about the refuges crisis of Europe we are overruled by a heap of misconceptions and therefore the researcher would debunk all the myths and indeed clarify what exactly constitutes and adds up to this crisis. Finally the researcher feels it is important for us to understand the crisis though dated long back is not yet over and continues to exist and therefore the researcher lays down some solutions and guidelines that could help in the understanding and solving of this crisis in a more meticulous and futuristic way.

Introduction

Brief Overview

The refugee crisis of Europe also known as the European crisis was a period featured with a huge population of people arriving within the European Union from overseas from the Mediterranean Sea to the Southeast of Europe. This crisis began in about 2015 and the European Commission declared the crisis to have come to an end. This crisis was part of the increase in immigration to Europe of several overseas migrants from other continents. A report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had stated that this influx of migrants was mainly from three places being Syrian about 46.7%, Afghanis about 20.9% and Iraqi about 9.4%.

Many refugees who did not enter into the EU through the Mediterranean sea entered through Greece and Italy and these refugees mainly belonged from countries were there were ongoing armed conflicts like the Civil War of Syria in 2011 and which still continues to exist, the Afghanistan war that started in 2001 and still is going on and the Iraqi conflict similarly. An immigrant according to the EU policies was defined to be a person who entered the territory of any EU country for a minimum period of 12 months in order to gain residence in the country. Therefore most the research conducted concluded that the immigrants majorly came to seek asylum and others were merely economic migrants and that there were some from Africa and the Middle East where there was a huge problem as to population growth.

This refugee crisis was considered to be one of the World’s most massive influx of people fleeing their counties to gain asylum because of poverty, conflict and persecution and the number of people reported to be a victim to this crisis was about 60 million. This was also termed to be the worst displacement humankind had noticed since the World War II.

Scale

The scale of the crisis was so huge that it was impossible to estimate and deduct the number of people that had made it to the EU but report from the UNHCR suggested that about 1,014,836 people had entered the boundaries of various countries throughout the EU by various zones and sea routes and also about 3,771 people had reportedly gone missing or were dead.[1] Around 85% of these immigrants came from top ten countries of the world producing maximum refugees. Some of the ways people entered the EU was either by Greece via Turkey then going on to the Balkans or some would travel through the Central Mediterranean starting their journey from Libya and ending in Italy wherein many others got stuck at various reception centres.

The emergency coordinator of the UNHCR, Lindis Hurummsf had even said that “It is impossible to see the people as numbers, or even as migrants or refugees – after experiencing a rescue. They are whole hearted and three dimensional human beings. There is no ‘the others’ – there is only ‘us’.”[2] Most of these people also tried to move towards the north to Austria, Germany and Sweden as these places were reported to have high standards of living for refugees. After these estimations and seeing the entire scenario of displacement across the EU it had been estimated by the UNHCR that this number of people attempting to enter the EU would not decline and would be around 850,000 by end of 2016.

The Background

To understand the reason for the conflict and why people were actually attempting to enter and flood EU it was important to assimilate the reasons the majority of the population of refugees came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and Middles East and North Africa and the situation they were forced to immigrate.

The situation in Syria is still very worse and there is no possibility of the Syrian was abating and therefore several people are forced to migrate for a better standard of living and some of them even want to enter the EU to go back home. Seeing the situation in Syria most of them have actually understood that this conflict is forever and therefore want to flee to Europe to seek refuge. Since the civil was started in 2011 about 7.6 million Syrians have migrated and have been displaced with about 4.1 million having fled to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey as these countries are the ones who bear the brunt of the refugee crisis.[1] Further it has also been added that though as compared to other refugees in Europe, the number of Syrian refugees is still low at 394,000 having sought refuge till date.

The situation of various Middle Eastern countries is also accelerating at an alarming rate and this has led to several migrants fleeing to Europe and seeking refuge. Talking independently the situation in Yemen is worse with neighbourhoods being destroyed as military targets which has led to about more than 100,000 people to exit their country. Similar to this conflict is the situation in Iraq where because of the advancement of the Islamic State there people are fleeing the country to save their lives and according to UNHCR about 400,000 Iraqis are currently seeking refuge in one of the EU countries.

Contrary to the situation in the Middle East is the situation of North Africa where people are fleeing not because of threat to life but because of the collapse and inefficiency of the government. In Libya itself various groups have migrated to EU and across the Mediterranean since because of the rivalling militias the groups of West Africans and South Asians have faced severe displacement and threat to employment. In Egypt again being a country responsible to bear the brunt of the refugees has about 130,000 refugees currently residing within its boundaries and this has let for the locals to gain lack of sympathy for these refugees leaving the refugees no option but to leave. Due these reasons migrants are fleeing to European countries to seek asylum and better standard of living. Another report also revealed that people entering Europe not only from areas of conflict but also from countries like Somalia, Ukraine and others escaping poverty. In Germany alone about 45% of the applications for seeking asylum came from the Balkan nations.

Refugee Routes to Europe

Over the years of this crisis refugees have discovered several traditional and unconventional routes to enter Europe and some of the most common ones are as follows. Refugees have seen to enter in large numbers through the overland’s of Balkans. Since most the Balkan region is freezing with winter mostly throughout the year and many camps of Syrian refugees are facing this extreme condition, they are moving and making their way towards parts of Europe through overland. Some of the refugees are also making their journey overland directly from Afghanistan and Syria.

A small proportion of the people have also travelled through Turkey in a short but more dangerous way and they have discovered this path by crossing the sea from various coastal towns like Bodrum and Didim entering countries like Greece and Italy. Most of these routes are so dangerous that refugees along the route have mostly come in contact with rubber bullets, razor wire fences or tear gas but still have somehow made it through the route.

Another traditional route most common to receive a huge influx of refugees is the Mediterranean and many refugees have over the years tried to cross Italy in summer months when the temperatures are favourable and pleasant. This route is less dangerous but long and since people are becoming victims to worsening conditions in the Lebanon and other regions, they have not choice and opt for this long and treacherous route. Various refugees who are not allowed to enter and have enough capital with them or money even pay whopping amounts like $10,000 to be smuggled into various countries.

Since most of the EU countries have started to apply policies which are more deterrent in order to stop the influx of people, this reason has allowed even more people to take this route and risk their lives. People are not hesitant to risk their life and have the fear of dyeing since they know and have lived in far worse conditions that even when they are out through the thick and thin they find some way to reach the country they wish to seek refuge to.

The Seven Part Analysis of the Crisis

The refugee crisis of Europe can be easily understood and elucidated into seven simple and analogical questions. Since we have seen that about half a million migrated to Europe and seeked asylum it has become important to understand who these migrants are and how they have arrived to the various EU countries. So now we shall analyse the seven parts of the crisis and how they can be analysed and deduced upon.

Which countries are the Refugees from?

From the statistics released by the UNHCR we found that most of these migrants came from Syria and other conflict driven countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Where are the Refugees Going?

It was noticed that most of the refugees coming to Europe did not want to claim asylum and other chose the same depending upon the country and circumstances they wished to live in. The country that received the most number of new asylum applications was Germany with about 476,000 applications and this was because of Germany’s easy going application process and the country’s refugee favouring policies. After Germany Hungary and Greece received the most number of applications with about 177,130 applications by the end of the December.

How do Refugees get to Europe?

It was estimated by the International Organization for Migration that about 1,011,700 refugees arrived by see and about 34,900 by land. However in 2015, due to the EU’s external border force and stringent monitoring the figures of people crossing Europe through the traditional routes reduced but people entering Europe increased to about 1,800,000. The most common route for entering Europe was to seek asylum at Greece and travel through Turkey.

How Dangerous is the Journey for these Refugees?

The reports released by the International Organization for Migration revealed that about 3,770 migrants died while crossing the borders and also most of them died while crossing the Mediterranean and about 800 died crossing the north Africa to Italy and going towards Turkey finally to Greece. The most number of death and injuries was noticed during the summer months since the climate was favourable and therefore this season attracted more refugees thereby accelerating further risk to life.

Which countries were the most affected?

The most affected countries during the course of this crisis were Hungary and Croatia. Though Germany had the most number of asylum applications, Hungary received the highest proportion of the population despite having closed borders unlike other countries and Croatia was the second worst hit followed by Sweden. On the other hand the country which received the least number of applications was United Kingdom with 60 applications for every 100,000 residents.

How does Europe Respond?

Various countries have adopted different and diverse techniques and policies to correspond and respond to the rising tensions due to the burdens faced by the crisis. The EU ministers in September have decided to relocate about 160,000 throughout the EU and now this plan has only become applicable to Greece and Italy. The ministers also decided to move about 54,000 refugees from Hungary, but the government rejected this plan as it received more migrants from countries like Greece and Italy as part of the relocation scheme. The United Kingdom on the issue opted for a quota system and though this system was introduced about 1,000 Syrian refuges were resettled throughout UK and were categorised under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme.

How many applications for asylums are approved?

Though around 400,000 applications for asylum were filed about only less than 50% have been successful with their application and seeked asylum. In about 2015, the totality of EU countries offered asylum to about 292,540 applications.

EU Policies and Impact on the Refugee Crisis

The Director of Operations for MSF, Brice de le Vingne commenting on the crisis situation and how the EU responded stated that “Not only did the European Union and European governments collectively fail to address the crisis, but their focus on policies of deterrence along with their chaotic response to the humanitarian needs of those who flee actively worsened the conditions of thousands of vulnerable men, women and children.” [1]

The EU along with the MSF have decided to undergo various complex and diverse unprecedented measures in order to restrict access to their borders and various humanitarian organizations have also radically scaled up their activities at the various entry points of the different European countries. The MSF in light and response to this crisis had deployed an immense troop of medical and humanitarian staff and has decided to conduct rescue ships and mobilised searches to save lives of the refugees at sea.

The staff members do believe and agree that refugees trying to seek asylum and enter Europe for a saver and better living is true and not a new situation in Europe. However, the teams are also optimistic that based on their 2015 reports in 2016 they can handle the crisis in a better manner and also assume their responsibilities in a better way and learn from their past mistakes and atrocities. However all policies introduced by these governments were not great and supportive towards these refugees and they were the most affected by such stringent norms and practices introduced by various EU organizations. Some of the alternatives and policies introduced were:

The migrants were not provided with any alternatives to the deadly and life threatening sea route;
The wire fences were elected bearing razors;
The procedures for registration and administration were continuously changes to surprise the refugees so that no one could take advantage;
The land borders and sea lands were faced with several atrocities and acts of violence;
Italy and Greece since allowed most of the refugees’ asylum were severed by worst reception conditions across the EU countries.

Having several years of experience in fields of such crisis the MSF had a brief overview of the refugee situation and how they could layout and possibly overcome these problems. They had also developed a notion that irrespective of stringent and deterrent polices wherein lives of migrants are endangered, the refugees would not hesitate to take risk and would continue to put their lives down the wire just to enter the country. After facing several issues related to acts of violence being committed they had urged the decision makers to allow safe passage of registered and legal refugees whose applications were accepted and also for the others that their dignity of life was not hampered with.

UNHCR Guidelines

The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres in a recent statement elucidating upon the guidelines and situation of the crisis sated and the EU has faced a defining moment during this crisis and that it is important to lay out broad and well-thought guidelines in order to underpin all the efforts undertaken to resolve and solve the migration crisis. He further explained that the reason for the failure of European government policies has been because of the fragmented approach and that the entire EU needs to develop a common massive effort in order find an effective common response to this situation.

He further revealed ahead of the key EU meetings that “Europe cannot go on responding to this crisis with a piecemeal or incremental approach. No country can do it alone, and no country can refuse to do its part. Exceptional circumstances require an exceptional response. Business as usual will not solve this problem.[1]” He further explained his contention by stating out various examples of generosity and leadership that were adopted by some countries and their private citizens and how this strategy of collectivism helped them renew and settle the conflicts.

Stating another example he elaborated how the image of a young boy from Syria had taken the internet by storm wherein the body of the boy was washed up on a Turkish beach as a failed attempt to reach Greece and how this threw a spotlight on the tragedies several humans are facing across the Mediterranean. He then went on to emphasize on the fact that “It (the EU) now has no other choice but to mobilize full force around the crisis. The only way to solve this problem is for the Union and all member states to implement a common strategy, based on responsibility, trust and solidarity.[2]”

He further put his points forward by explaining how for a crisis at this level to be understood and solved and for refugees to be analysed it was important for every country to respect the international laws and regulations defined across several conventions and how this was the only way to adopt a like-minded and uniform strategy around this point and ideology of thought and notion. Constantly repeating and reinstating the fact that no country can possibly do this alone and that if and only if all countries join hands and form a collective strategy could a crisis like this be solved, he came up with six fundamental principles that should be followed and kept in mind in order to resolve this issues and they are as follows:

It was reiterated that this situation is primarily a refugee crisis and is not part of a migration phenomenon. The refugees arriving from conflict prone countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to Greece and other countries are only migrating and seeking asylum in order to save their lives. What these refugees want and wish is that their rights be respected and their dignity be preserved and this is the responsibility of the states as well as the refugees to develop the same in accordance with the international law.
Another guideline was that the ministers in Europe cannot respond to this crisis independently and should develop a more collective approach. The guideline also emphasizes on the fact that in such a crisis which is so unbalanced and dysfunctional. Everything is supposed and known to be blocked when the pressure increases and mounts on. Therefore this crisis is a defining moment for the entire fundamental system of Europe and the EU has no choice but to mobilize the entire force in order to resolve this crisis.
Various urgent and courageous measures need to be stabilized and adopted in order become and share responsibility over the long term and in order to adapt to such findings the EU needs to be ready and more futuristic with the various countries and their governments. The European commission as a measure should mobilize the EU asylum, civil protection agencies and the assistance and registration capacity.
Another importance guideline introduced is that refugees who are entitled for a protection claim must benefit from the mass relocation programme and this should seek mandatory participation from all EU member states. The guideline also estimates that the relocation opportunity shall be provided to about 200,000 places and that if this structure functions well then more adequate reception centres and capacities can be adopted.
In terms of refugees who do not fall within the criteria of international protection and also who cannot benefit from the various legal migration policies should be respectfully sent home and the respective countries shall make necessary provisions to send the refugees back.
The last guideline lays down emphasis on the entry of illegal immigrants and smugglers and that EU countries need to cooperate and find ways to track down these smugglers and also find mechanisms and policies for victims to be safe and protected. In order to facilitate this policy and develop this scenario of trust it is important all the governments form and initiate larger resettlement and humanitarian centres and also allow various admission quotas and policies to allow extension of visa and scholarships available to enter Europe legally. Therefore if these guidelines are adopted in a better and efficient way then this could reduce the number of people risking their lives at sea and seeking other ways to enter these countries.

Apart from these guidelines laid down by the UNHCR it is noted that an immediate response is needed in order to gain some clarity in this situation and also this would allow various organizations to get better vision and indeed reflect upon their future endeavours and polices. It is also important to understand that the influx of people into these countries won’t stop until their plights are heard and addressed and also that a lot of initiatives need to be implemented in order to prevent conflicts and stop people from driving away from their home countries. Furthermore, the country’s most prone to war must be supported with better administration facilities and the policies for refugees from these locations must be flexible and adaptable. Lastly it is also essential to develop cooperative polices and measures that are objectives oriented and that would provide opportunities to people for having a future in their own countries. Therefore it is important to understand that the entire Europe is facing a time and moment of truth and in order to success and overcome this we need to reaffirm the light of values inbuilt within us.

Country by Country Demographical Analysis

We have seen that the entire European Union is facing various unprecedented situations relating to the huge influx of refugees and this is because of several reasons like saving their lives from probable danger, for a better standard of living and for their safety and security. Therefore in order to further understand how each country is behaving during this crisis and the various policies it has introduced to tackle this it is important to analyse each affected country individually and understand the crisis from their demographical perspective.

Hungary

Hungary has been one of the most affected during this crisis because of its ease of access and favourable policies and Budapest being one of the prime locations to settle with high and great standard of living and in great proximity to other countries. The situation however of refugees is not that pleasant and about 1,000 people are just lying down on a highway at some part of Budapest and this situation is just worsening. Some migrants severed the heat from local politicians and they had to walk to Germany if they wished to resettle about 155 miles from Budapest. The police have also restricted large group of people to gather and walk and have shield them from traffic disruption. However some of the private citizens of Hungary have however helped and provided food and water to the migrants.

The government is also helping a lot by providing about 100 buses a day to Austria for people who want to relocate their and also no one would be forced to enter the bus if he or she refuses. Further border restrictions have been eased and people stuck on the border to Hungary from Serbia have been allowed to enter and volunteers are hired to supply adequate food and water. The Hungarian government has also introduced EU rules and have peacefully made the refugees understand not to panic and be terrified. Further in order to reduce threat from locals to these refugees the government officials have also released a statement clarifying and reiterating the fact that these migrants don’t pose any threat to the locals and private citizens of Hungary.

Russia

This is a country partially struck by the crisis and comes into such a situation because of its geographical location and central location to all the countries. Recently because of the vast land available in Russia, the government of Russia entered into a healthy negotiation with the government of Turkey to allow migrants from Turkey to enter Russia on a primary basis. However both Russia and Turkey are two countries who have rebelled to every policy of the EU and have also directly blamed the Mediterranean countries through official press releases.

Turkey

Since turkey is so diverse and well located and since the policies are so easy going and help the refugees many migrants have entered Turkey. However a major problem it is facing is of national security since due to its close proximity with Syria it has a huge influx of migrants from there which indeed pose situational threat to the people of its country. However, the Turkish government has been very cooperative and has inculcated and developed various futuristic and friendly policies for refugees and has even created quotas for their respective and dignified relocation.

Austria

Austria having close proximity with Hungary, Austria has faced several claims and interactions for migrants relocation but the Austrian government has proved not be very cooperative and there has been no change in the border policies. The government also released an official statement that they won’t enforce border controls in respect of the agreement that enforces border control to 25 European countries.

Luxembourg

This country has become a prime meeting spot for all the EU ministers and there is an informal gathering of ministers on September 14 taking place in Belgium. The country has also been open to foreign interactions and has agreed to cooperate with several countries to reduce their pressure and relocation norms. Further reasoned to the healthy negotiations by the government they came to a conclusion to improve the asylum and transit procedures for these refugees and also that they would enforce better policies for migrants entering from the Balkan countries but would ensure they fought and removed any chances of human trafficking and smuggling.

Greece

Being at the centre of this crisis and one of the most favoured countries to migrate along with Italy and Hungary it has continued to receive about 5,000 applications for asylums and refuge every week and the most applications come from refugees belonging to Syria and Afghanistan. Rather than the big cities of Greece, small and distant islands like Lesbos and Kos have become prime spots for relocation and several arrivals registered with the police have been noticed over the days. Though the locals are not reacting in a well-mannered way and the refugees are facing violence in some form, Greece has continued to remain as one of the most favoured countries to settle and migrate too.

United Kingdom

The UK being very prone economically and financially, it has become a favourable migrating country for many well off refugees. The government and the Prime Minster have also been very cooperative and have allowed several thousand Syrians to be accepted into the UK and also have officially stated that they would provide long-term refuge to them. The government further clarified that they would accept about 5,000 refugees and they would also accept refugees from the vulnerable groups. The government has been very fruitful in implementing policies and has therefore made necessary arrangements for refugees’ food, shelter and water being the vital components for their survival.

UK is the only European country to have taken such initiatives and have helped migrants relocate very well and these policies introduced has made UK the most favourable place to settle economically and financially. However other European countries have criticized UK for doing less as compared to Sweden or Germany since they don’t allow a huge volume of migrants than their EU counterparts.

Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Crisis

Myth 1: The Crisis is Over

This is the most common myth revolving around this crisis and this came to fact since in 2015 and 2016 most the EU countries saw huge influx of migrants but after 2016 the governments cracked down and the movements of migrant also undocumented and various refugees were stuck at the reception centres and the number of people also decline. Due this change in the movement of people the common misconception arose that the crisis is over and solved just because the movement of people is reduced.

The fact that we look at the crisis to have begun in 2015 and ended it a mistake since the fact that the causes of the crisis have still not changed and the crisis is still ongoing. When we see it from the perspective of the movement of people and decline it is quite misleading, but the crisis is still not over. Most the reasons for the development of this crisis is the immigration systems and policies drawn by various governments and the abundance of overreaction and panic fueled this myth about the crisis. Therefore we can say that this crisis is not over and that the crisis is not only the movement and passage of migrants, but also the role of the border systems to keep them filtered and outside of their limits and this is still happening.

Myth 2: Separation of ‘Refugees’ from ‘Economic Migrants’

Another common misconception is to do with the way we separate and divide migrants based on their economic situations and style and that this term has taken a completely new pejorative definition and meaning since the crisis began. We need to understand that migrants are the same and we must not classify them separately. Since the only difference between a refugee and an economic migrant is that a refugee is fleeing due to danger to life and an economic migrant is fleeing for advancements and better opportunities but both are considered to be seeking asylum.

Myth 3: Human Stories are not Enough to Change People’s Minds

We have often noticed that in situations of panic and war, stories take shape of empathy and emotions and often some bigger aspects of war are overshadowed by the emotions. It is good to have empathy in terms of this conflict and period of tension, but one must understand and comprehend that empathy does have limits too. In the current situation we saw that governments in order to reduce influx and illegal smugglers entering developed stringent and deterrent border control restrictions and policies and this though led to deaths and severe injuries to several it took shape in the form of emotions and empathy to the migrants, but honestly they were breaking a rule and entering illegally or without due procedure. It is on one hand good to showcase empathy and develop feelings of trust and generosity but it is important not to negate the prime reason of the development of such stringent polices and measures.

Myth 4: Crisis as a Threat to European Values

The refugee crisis of Europe was often negatively labelled as being derogatory to the European cultures imbibed within the society for several centuries, but it is important to understand that the refugees migrating to Europe are doing so since they respect the culture and tradition of that particular country and see themselves fit to start a new life there and dwell in their habitat and surroundings. In order to overcome war and fight totalitarianism it is important to inculcate this notion and eradicate the myth that refugee are a harm and disdain to the culture of Europe and its deeply accustomed and enshrined value system.

Myth 5: Leaving the Fate to History

Often it has been noticed that in terms of crisis people blame the history for repeating and have this as a good moral reason not to elucidate the actual reasons for the crisis and work in order to find plausible solutions to resolve the same. During the World War II people blamed history for repeating itself drawing parallel to World War I and now during this crisis people blame history for again repeating itself after the two World Wars. This misconception needs to be erased and it is important for people to understand that if history wanted to repeat itself and create such panic and distortion it would do it once and for all and learn from the previous mistakes, but repeating itself again and again is not its fate but the result of human misconceptions and rugged nature for blaming everything on the past.

Solutions Towards the Future

An alternative to reduce panic and pain for the refugees a safe routes to a sanctuary could be created wherein people would be allowed to reunite with their families and thereby giving the valid migrants visas to spend their life with their family. Adopting this approach would eliminate about more than half of the migrant community and number.
Resettlement is another essential way to tackle the problem aroused by this crisis and this can be a very practical and enhanced approach to tackle the fate of vulnerable refugees.
Another approach requires a mentality shift wherein various countries need to understand that the primary goal of any policy should be saving lives of people and not actually put them in further danger. This operation can be successful if all countries allocate adequate resources and supplies to conduct search operations and rescue people as right to life is a basic human principle and fundamental right.
Refugees seeking asylum from war or conflict hit zones should be allows some flexibility in policy considerations and should be allowed to cross borders even without adequate travel document so as to eliminate the fact of a life threatening act or a mishap since migrants won’t agree until they are heard.
Countries should develop a collective approach and find a way to find and investigate upon all the trafficking and smuggling gangs and in destroying their objectives and routes to enter their countries.
Governments should gain trust of the refugees not by showing or displaying a mere form of empathy or emotions, but by actually not blaming there for social and economic distortions and disruption of their cultural values and traditions.
Earlier it was noticed that Europe had tried to relocate about 400,000 refugees but this idea did not gain consensus and this led to a doing nothing approach. In order to solve this conflict and for EU to rise back and deal with this situation it needs to do away with this doing nothing approach and actually make some progress towards progressive development.
The idea of quotas was introduced by the UK and several other countries but no noticeable change or development was implemented nor introduced and this led to rapid loss of trust among the refugees and created further panic. The EU needs to deliberate reasonably on this principle and develop adequate mechanisms to deal with this situation as this would indeed help gain the trust of the refugees back as well as help reduce the burden from their countries.
Lastly since many of the UNHCR reports reveal that most of these migrants and refugees travel from war and conflict prone areas, the EU along with the UNHCR needs to reason out policies and solutions to initiate peace talks among war driven countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan as this would directly eliminate the question about fleeing their home lands and further this would bring more responsiveness to the world and the community.

Conclusion

Analysing the refugee crisis of Europe in several forms and contentions, referring and elucidating upon the various policies and guidelines issued by the UNHCR and the European Commission and thereby interpreting each country’s situation separately and debunking the myths we have now gained a complete understanding of the crisis. We can therefore conclude that by following sound policies, implementing the guidelines issued stringently and strict monitoring of the country’s policies along with referring to the solutions provided we can definitely reach a step closer to eliminating and reducing this crisis. It can be noticed that during situations of such panic and stress what is utmost important is to maintain the trust among all the members and countries, assure the refugees of safe and dignified asylum and developing a mind-set of a collective approach is truly essential and surmountable. This crisis has not only prepared us for such future encounters but has also made us interpret and evaluate where we are currently lacking. It is important to take this crisis as a learning experience and develop better policies and frameworks to tackle such situations the next time they occur, further by respecting the humanitarian aspect of this crisis. Lastly, it is important to understand that a crisis of such a magnitude involving so many diverse and different negotiating parties and government institutions, it is important to develop the principles and notion of collectivism, solidarity, trust, like-mindedness, symbolism and ability to grow and enhance.

Questions

What is the background and genesis of the Refugee crisis?
How can the crisis be analysed in seven parts?
What are the various EU policies in regards of the crisis?
What stand and guidelines has the UNHCR issues?
What is country by country analysis of the crisis?
What are some of the common misconceptions and myths regarding the crisis?
What are the possible solutions to deal with the crisis in future?