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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Migration |
|---|---|
| located: | Hungary, Serbia |
| editor: | Katarzyna Rybarczyk |
With the surge in irregular migrant arrivals into the EU, member states are looking for solutions to secure their borders. But, with growing hostility towards migrants, some countries are suggesting radical steps. Hungary, for example, demanded that the EU begin financing border fences. Although, for the time being, this controversial idea has not been put into practice, it has raised the question of how long EU institutions will continue to oppose paying for such protectionist projects.
“Fences protect all of Europe,” said Viktor Orban, Hungarian prime minister, ahead of a recent EU summit where EU leaders discussed ways to curb irregular immigration. The proposal was met with concerns. "It would be a shame if a wall were built in Europe with the European stars on it," responded Xavier Bettel, a prime minister of Luxembourg who criticised the idea and added that for him, Europe stood for the "fall of a wall."
Still, Orban’s suggestion revived a discussion about whether fences and barbed wires are needed to effectively protect EU borders, or whether they violate the rights of migrants fleeing conflicts and persecution.
Hungary first suggested that the EU should offer reimbursements for fencing off borders after the 2015-16 migration crisis. It was then that the country spent €1.64bn on the construction of a fence on its border with Serbia. Back then, the European Commission, responsible for the bloc's shared budget, refused the proposal, stating that it went against the democratic values of the organisation.
Regrettably, over the last few years, Hungary has not been the only country to use a border wall to deter migrants. By 2022, eleven other EU countries have also built fences at one or more parts of their borders. As states have to finance these projects themselves, more and more politicians begin to stand by Orban’s suggestion, demanding money from the EU. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, for instance, has called for the EU to fund fences on borders with the bloc’s neighbouring countries, such as Turkey.
However, using fences as a tool to regulate migration flows is not only undemocratic, but also inhumane as it deprives migrants of their fundamental right to asylum, guaranteed by the 1951 Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees. “EU countries have a shared responsibility to welcome asylum seekers in a dignified manner, ensuring that they are treated fairly and their case is examined following uniform standards,” explains the European Commission. But these people, who flee their homes and embark on a perilous journey to Europe, are met with the cold and unfair welcome of barbed wires and barriers.
Hungary is known for its hostility towards migrants, but rather than follow its lead, other EU countries should condemn Orban’s suggestions. Only through making legal pathways accessible to migrants and offering more assistance to countries hosting large numbers of asylum-seekers can the EU be effective in responding to increased migration. Otherwise, if the organisation starts openly supporting the creation of fences and walls, Europe’s crisis concerning refugees might become a permanent state of affairs.
Image by Freedom House
