EUROPE IS NOT MADE OF RUBBER

The EU leadership is in disarray. In addition to problems associated with the global economic muddle and the unstable situation along almost the entire perimeter of the EU borders, a migration crisis is asserting itself more and more clearly. The problem of illegal migration is in fact not something new for the countries of the Old World, which are relatively well-off economically and politically. However, this influx of migrants that in recent years swept through nearly all of Europe has seemingly caught EU leaders off guard. Wars and instability in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and other troubled regions and countries have significantly increased the number of people wishing to find refuge in Europe. Those seeking a better life try to get there by any means and at any cost.

Illegal migrants perish by the dozens on the way to the coveted continent. There have been several such tragic cases in the last few days alone. In particular, the bodies of 50 refugees from North African countries were found on a ship with illegal immigrants off Libya's coast. The dead were in the hold of the ship bound for Italy, which carried another 400 people.

In Austria, the bodies of more than 50 migrants were found in a lorry near the Hungarian border. They suffocated in the lorry's van. But this does not stop anyone.

The situation is exacerbated by excessive tolerance of the leading European countries in solving the problem, though for many it is already obvious that the principles of humanity applied in dealing with cases of refugees only aggravate the crisis given the current large-scale migration. In the meantime, migrants make full use of the kindness of compassionate Europeans. In so doing, they present arguments that border on absurdity. Recently, one of the European countries granted asylum to a resourceful African who, in explaining the flight from his native village to Europe, told the immigration authorities: "Our village was attacked by a lion, and I ran for life. I do not remember how I got here". It should be mentioned that the nimble African told this story to unsuspecting representatives of the authorities of the country which is separated from his homeland not only by the Mediterranean but also by at least one more European coastal country.

In other words, it is no secret that the illegal immigrants include not only those fleeing repressive regimes at home and the woes of war, but also those who simply wish to live better. This is evidenced by the fact that refugees tend to settle not just in any European country they are able to reach first but in the most prosperous EU member states - Germany, France, etc. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the situation with the influx of migrants into Europe, which is close to catastrophic, requires the EU to develop a centrally-managed single policy that is currently absent. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz was right in saying: "If we fail to quickly respond to the challenge of migration, then more and more countries will try to deal with the crisis alone".

And so it happens. Without waiting for the adoption of a new pan-European migration policy, some countries that are in the forefront of Europe's migrant crisis decided to act on their own, to the best of their abilities. For example, Latvia decided to protect itself from illegal aliens by fences. The Hungarian Government, in addition to that, is discussing a possibility of using the army to guard the southern border. The Hungarians may be quite right in considering this option, as about 1,500 illegal migrants are daily caught by the police at the border, whereas more than 110,000 migrants have arrived in the country since the beginning of this year. In trying to get rid of this problem, Macedonian authorities simply allowed a train with 600 migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to pass to the border with Serbia. Great Britain acted even more drastically - it refused to participate in European refugee admission programmes and closed its border for illegal immigrants. Slovakia has refused to admit Muslims at all, saying they experience problems with integration into society because their practices are alien to Christian Slovaks.

However, such measures do not decrease the number of illegal immigrants. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres described the situation very vividly: "When a door is closed, people will open a window. If the window is closed, people will dig a tunnel". According to him, "the European asylum system is essentially dysfunctional" and "we need states to assume their responsibilities in line with the acquis".

One solution to the problem is the use of a quota system for the admission of migrants by each country of the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the need to introduce common rules for registration, accommodation and deportation of asylum seekers. She also called for their "fair distribution" across Europe. The chancellor recalled that there is a unified rule for the admission of asylum seekers in many European countries but it is not being observed at the moment. "Germany and France expect all EU member states to fully provide for the compliance with this admission rule". In turn, French President Francois Hollande called the situation "extraordinary" and underscored that common European asylum rules were a condition for the functioning of the Schengen system.

While the authorities of France and Germany are reflecting on living arrangements for a growing army of refugees, nationalist or more precisely Islamophobic - given the religious composition of the bulk of migrants - sentiments are gaining strength in a number of European countries. This was especially evident in Germany (where the number of requests for asylum received since the beginning of the year exceeded 800,000) and France. Most recently, German nationalists tried to set fire to a Bavaria-based refugee camp which, incidentally, accommodated a group of migrants from Azerbaijan. According to some reports, there was a clash between camp inhabitants and Bavarian neo-Nazis. Police were forced to intervene to prevent the development of the incident. Another incident took place in the town of Heidenau, near Dresden, where representatives of right-wing movements blocked the way for a bus with refugees and then hailed the unwelcome guests with bottles and stones, shouting insults. This was strongly condemned by Angela Merkel. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert was no less indignant: "It is disgusting how right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis attempt to spread their idiotic message of hatred around an asylum shelter. And it is a shame that citizens and even families with children are participating in such actions and support this mess".

In France, the influx of migrants has, in addition to the growth of xenophobic sentiments, strengthened the position of right-wing forces led by the head of the National Front, Marine Le Pen. The results of a poll conducted by the IFOP centre in France last week were quite revealing: Ms Le Pen would win the presidential elections in France if the vote were held last weekend. Some 26-27 per cent of potential voters are ready to vote for her, which is already greater than for the present and past presidents (Francois Hollande - 20 per cent, and Nicolas Sarkozy - 24 per cent). There is no doubt that under the current scenario, the number of supporters of the nationalists in France will only grow.

By the way, Marine Le Pen does not hide that her criticism of the government's policy towards migrants, which is too soft in her opinion, stems from her concern about the influx of Muslims into the country. She already demanded from the authorities that all foreigners who came to the attention of law enforcement agencies for liaison with radical Islamism should be immediately expelled from the country. "Why does France host a foreign citizen who is known to be a potentially dangerous person associated with deadly ideology?"

This raises the question, is there the risk that, under the influence of a large influx of migrants from Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Islam as a whole will be perceived as this "deadly ideology"? After all, France is just one example of how virtually uncontrollable situation with the influx of migrants is used by nationalist forces in various countries for political purposes. Thus, the problem of migration threatens to exacerbate the more global problem of Islamophobia the manifestations of which we have seen in the countries of the Christian world in recent years.