07-15-2017, 11:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-16-2017, 07:05 AM by John J. Xenakis.)
*** 16-Jul-17 World View -- EU countries refuse to help Italy deal with massive refugee crisis
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** EU countries refuse to help Italy deal with massive refugee crisis
****
![[Image: g170715b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170715b.jpg)
Migrants wait to disembark after being rescued at sea (AP)
Reports are describing Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni with
words like "furious" and "livid" over the fact that the European Union
is refusing to help Italy deal with the massive refugee crisis the
country is facing.
Almost 100,000 refugees, mostly crossing the Mediterranean from Libya,
have landed on Italy's shores so far this year. In the last week of
June alone, 10,000 more refugees arrived. Italy has been left
entirely on its own to care for them. Instead of being helped, Italy
finds itself constantly criticized for not doing enough. While
100,000 refugees have reached Italy, another 2,500 drowned while en
route, and Italy is often criticized for not providing enough boats to
prevent those drownings. Italy also receives criticism for not doing
enough to care for the hundreds of thousands of refugees that the
country is hosting.
What really infuriates Gentiloni and other Italian officials is that
lots of politicians full of moral outrage criticizing Italy for not
doing enough, but they refuse to accept any refugees into their own
countries. In 2015, the EU agreed that 160,000 asylum seekers should
be relocated from Greece and Italy to other member states, in the name
of burden-sharing. To date, only about 22,500 of the 160,000 have
actually been transferred. Several central and eastern European EU
members - including large countries like Hungary and Poland - have
absolutely refused to take in any asylum-seekers.
At best, EU countries pay lip service to helping Italy, and even
sympathize with poor Italy's misfortune, but they refuse to take the
step that would really make a difference -- distributing
asylum-seekers to other countries.
One policy that the EU has tried is that of making sure that whoever
rescues migrants from the Mediterranean stays long enough to burn down
or otherwise destroy the boat that the human traffickers had used to
transport them out of Libya. Pro-immigrant activists say that this is
a dangerous policy because human traffickers have adapted. They're
simply using cheaper, less secure boats, like expendable rubber
dinghies that are purchases in large quantities from China. Activists
say that the result of the boat-burning policy has been to make the
trip more dangerous for refugees.
Another policy that the EU has been trying is to push the problem to
Libya, by paying Libya's coastguard to prevent departures of refugee
boats from Libya, by intercepting boats in Libyan waters and bring
them back to Libya. Amnesty International has been strongly
criticizing this policy, because the Libyan coastguard has reportedly
been abusing the refugees that it captures.
Amnesty International is demanding that the EU pull its funding of the
Libyan coastguard:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Rather than acting to save lives and offer
> protection, European Ministers meeting today are shamelessly
> prioritizing reckless deals with Libya in a desperate bid to
> prevent refugees and migrants from reaching Italy.
>
> European states have progressively turned their backs on a search
> and rescue strategy that was reducing mortality at sea in favor of
> one that has seen thousands drown and left desperate men, women
> and children trapped in Libya, exposed to horrific
> abuses."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
As usual with these activist organizations, there are only criticisms,
never solutions, and only demands to spend an unlimited amount of
money, even if doing so wouldn't make any difference.
The summer season is just beginning, and refugee flows across the
Mediterranean have not yet reached their peak. As many as 100,000
more refugees are expected by the end of the year. CNN and Deutsche Welle and Guardian (London) and Amnesty International
****
**** Italy considers a 'code of conduct,' and possibly the 'nuclear option'
****
Italy is considering two plans to relieve the refugee crisis for
itself. The purpose of both of the plans under consideration is not
necessarily to reduce the refugee flow, but instead to force other
European countries to share the burden.
First, Italy is considering an 11-point code of conduct for NGOs
(non-governmental organizations) that rescue most the refugees from
the Mediterranean.
The way it works now is that human traffickers launch rubber dinghies
filled with dozens of refugees from the Libyan coast, charging each of
the refugees thousands of dollars. The dinghies are flimsy, and
usually have just enough fuel to leave Libyan waters. The human
traffickers tell the refugees that once they're out of Libyan waters,
they should call a specific number in Italy, and a boat will be
dispatched to save them from the rubber dinghy.
Italian officials are suspicious that the NGOs that receive funding to
pick up refugees are cooperating by phone with the human traffickers,
and even getting kickbacks from them. The NGOs vehemently deny these
charges.
So Italy is expected in the next few days to present its 11-point code
of conduct to nine NGOs that regularly deploy rescue boats to rescue
refugees. The plan hasn't been officially released, but some of the
rules have leaked out, and are already being criticized by
pro-immigrant activists.
Italian officials claim that the NGOs are encouraging migrants to put
to sea, and that the number of migrants would be reduced if they
weren't being encouraged, if NGOs followed this code of conduct.
If any group refuses to accept the terms, they risk being barred
access to Italian ports, meaning they would have to divert to other
countries to disembark the refugees and migrants.
An official with Amnesty International says that if this code of
conduct is enforced, then it will interfere with operations to the
extent that it will put many lives in danger:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Attempts to restrict NGO search and rescue operations
> risk endangering thousands of lives by limiting rescue boats from
> accessing the perilous waters near Libya."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Human Rights Watch says that the code of conduct is the wrong
approach, and more must be done for the refugees:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"NGOs are out there in the Mediterranean rescuing
> people because the EU is not. Given the scale of tragedies at sea
> and the horrific abuses migrants and asylum seekers face in Libya,
> the EU should work with Italy to enhance robust search and rescue
> in the waters off Libya, not limit it."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
An Amnesty International official said that the code of conduct
proposals were part of a "concerted smear campaign" against NGO rescue
ships by right-wing groups. Reuters and Independent (London) and EU Observer (7-July) and
Deutsche Welle (7-July)
****
**** Italy's 'nuclear option' would force other countries to absorb refugees
****
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's fury at other EU countries for
abandoning Italy and refusing to accept any refugees is being
translation into consideration of what is being called "the nuclear
option."
The plan would take advantage of a little-known and near-forgotten
European Council Directive 55 from 2001, drafted after the Balkans
conflict, to give temporary EU entry permits to "displaced people."
If implemented, Italy would give temporary visas to 200,000 migrants
that it's currently hosting. This would permit them to travel freely
throughout the 26 nations of Europe's Schengen Zone.
An analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations says that the
result would be severe:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"If migrants continue to arrive and Italy decides to
> give them papers to cross borders and leave Italy it would be a
> nuclear option. Italians have lost any hope of getting help from
> the EU and may say, 'If you won’t make it a common challenge, we
> will.'"<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The outcome would be a truly major political crisis across the EU.
However, it's not known whether Gentiloni is really considering this
option, or whether he's just bluffing to get concessions. The National (UAE) and The Sun (London) and Daily Mail (London)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Italy, Paolo Gentiloni, Hungary, Poland,
Libya, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- EU countries refuse to help Italy deal with massive refugee crisis
- Italy considers a 'code of conduct,' and possibly the 'nuclear option'
- Italy's 'nuclear option' would force other countries to absorb refugees
****
**** EU countries refuse to help Italy deal with massive refugee crisis
****
Migrants wait to disembark after being rescued at sea (AP)
Reports are describing Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni with
words like "furious" and "livid" over the fact that the European Union
is refusing to help Italy deal with the massive refugee crisis the
country is facing.
Almost 100,000 refugees, mostly crossing the Mediterranean from Libya,
have landed on Italy's shores so far this year. In the last week of
June alone, 10,000 more refugees arrived. Italy has been left
entirely on its own to care for them. Instead of being helped, Italy
finds itself constantly criticized for not doing enough. While
100,000 refugees have reached Italy, another 2,500 drowned while en
route, and Italy is often criticized for not providing enough boats to
prevent those drownings. Italy also receives criticism for not doing
enough to care for the hundreds of thousands of refugees that the
country is hosting.
What really infuriates Gentiloni and other Italian officials is that
lots of politicians full of moral outrage criticizing Italy for not
doing enough, but they refuse to accept any refugees into their own
countries. In 2015, the EU agreed that 160,000 asylum seekers should
be relocated from Greece and Italy to other member states, in the name
of burden-sharing. To date, only about 22,500 of the 160,000 have
actually been transferred. Several central and eastern European EU
members - including large countries like Hungary and Poland - have
absolutely refused to take in any asylum-seekers.
At best, EU countries pay lip service to helping Italy, and even
sympathize with poor Italy's misfortune, but they refuse to take the
step that would really make a difference -- distributing
asylum-seekers to other countries.
One policy that the EU has tried is that of making sure that whoever
rescues migrants from the Mediterranean stays long enough to burn down
or otherwise destroy the boat that the human traffickers had used to
transport them out of Libya. Pro-immigrant activists say that this is
a dangerous policy because human traffickers have adapted. They're
simply using cheaper, less secure boats, like expendable rubber
dinghies that are purchases in large quantities from China. Activists
say that the result of the boat-burning policy has been to make the
trip more dangerous for refugees.
Another policy that the EU has been trying is to push the problem to
Libya, by paying Libya's coastguard to prevent departures of refugee
boats from Libya, by intercepting boats in Libyan waters and bring
them back to Libya. Amnesty International has been strongly
criticizing this policy, because the Libyan coastguard has reportedly
been abusing the refugees that it captures.
Amnesty International is demanding that the EU pull its funding of the
Libyan coastguard:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Rather than acting to save lives and offer
> protection, European Ministers meeting today are shamelessly
> prioritizing reckless deals with Libya in a desperate bid to
> prevent refugees and migrants from reaching Italy.
>
> European states have progressively turned their backs on a search
> and rescue strategy that was reducing mortality at sea in favor of
> one that has seen thousands drown and left desperate men, women
> and children trapped in Libya, exposed to horrific
> abuses."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
As usual with these activist organizations, there are only criticisms,
never solutions, and only demands to spend an unlimited amount of
money, even if doing so wouldn't make any difference.
The summer season is just beginning, and refugee flows across the
Mediterranean have not yet reached their peak. As many as 100,000
more refugees are expected by the end of the year. CNN and Deutsche Welle and Guardian (London) and Amnesty International
****
**** Italy considers a 'code of conduct,' and possibly the 'nuclear option'
****
Italy is considering two plans to relieve the refugee crisis for
itself. The purpose of both of the plans under consideration is not
necessarily to reduce the refugee flow, but instead to force other
European countries to share the burden.
First, Italy is considering an 11-point code of conduct for NGOs
(non-governmental organizations) that rescue most the refugees from
the Mediterranean.
The way it works now is that human traffickers launch rubber dinghies
filled with dozens of refugees from the Libyan coast, charging each of
the refugees thousands of dollars. The dinghies are flimsy, and
usually have just enough fuel to leave Libyan waters. The human
traffickers tell the refugees that once they're out of Libyan waters,
they should call a specific number in Italy, and a boat will be
dispatched to save them from the rubber dinghy.
Italian officials are suspicious that the NGOs that receive funding to
pick up refugees are cooperating by phone with the human traffickers,
and even getting kickbacks from them. The NGOs vehemently deny these
charges.
So Italy is expected in the next few days to present its 11-point code
of conduct to nine NGOs that regularly deploy rescue boats to rescue
refugees. The plan hasn't been officially released, but some of the
rules have leaked out, and are already being criticized by
pro-immigrant activists.
- NGOs will be banned from making phone calls or firing flares
that might signal to human traffickers that they could push their
migrant boats out to sea.
- The NGO vessels will also be obliged to let police travel with
them to help root out any human traffickers hidden amongst the
migrants.
- NGOs will be required to always keep their ships' transponders
turned on. These are radar identification systems that allow the
ships to be tracked remotely. Some commercial ships turn them off to
avoid being asked to carry out rescue operations. Some NGOs turn off
the transponders to avoid being tracked into Libyan waters.
- The boats will no longer be allowed to transfer refugees to other
ships, but will instead have to bring them to port themselves,
limiting their operations.
- There will be a categorical ban on NGOs entering Libyan waters
unless human life is clearly in danger.
Italian officials claim that the NGOs are encouraging migrants to put
to sea, and that the number of migrants would be reduced if they
weren't being encouraged, if NGOs followed this code of conduct.
If any group refuses to accept the terms, they risk being barred
access to Italian ports, meaning they would have to divert to other
countries to disembark the refugees and migrants.
An official with Amnesty International says that if this code of
conduct is enforced, then it will interfere with operations to the
extent that it will put many lives in danger:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Attempts to restrict NGO search and rescue operations
> risk endangering thousands of lives by limiting rescue boats from
> accessing the perilous waters near Libya."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Human Rights Watch says that the code of conduct is the wrong
approach, and more must be done for the refugees:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"NGOs are out there in the Mediterranean rescuing
> people because the EU is not. Given the scale of tragedies at sea
> and the horrific abuses migrants and asylum seekers face in Libya,
> the EU should work with Italy to enhance robust search and rescue
> in the waters off Libya, not limit it."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
An Amnesty International official said that the code of conduct
proposals were part of a "concerted smear campaign" against NGO rescue
ships by right-wing groups. Reuters and Independent (London) and EU Observer (7-July) and
Deutsche Welle (7-July)
****
**** Italy's 'nuclear option' would force other countries to absorb refugees
****
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's fury at other EU countries for
abandoning Italy and refusing to accept any refugees is being
translation into consideration of what is being called "the nuclear
option."
The plan would take advantage of a little-known and near-forgotten
European Council Directive 55 from 2001, drafted after the Balkans
conflict, to give temporary EU entry permits to "displaced people."
If implemented, Italy would give temporary visas to 200,000 migrants
that it's currently hosting. This would permit them to travel freely
throughout the 26 nations of Europe's Schengen Zone.
An analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations says that the
result would be severe:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"If migrants continue to arrive and Italy decides to
> give them papers to cross borders and leave Italy it would be a
> nuclear option. Italians have lost any hope of getting help from
> the EU and may say, 'If you won’t make it a common challenge, we
> will.'"<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The outcome would be a truly major political crisis across the EU.
However, it's not known whether Gentiloni is really considering this
option, or whether he's just bluffing to get concessions. The National (UAE) and The Sun (London) and Daily Mail (London)
Related Articles
- Italy begs for help after 12,000 migrants arrive in four days (30-Jun-2017)
- Italy prepares for possible Mediterranean refugee crisis this summer (05-May-2017)
- With Libya in chaos, migrant deal with Italy collapses (16-Jan-2017)
- Monday's EU summit to show that Europe 'not detached from reality' over migrants (14-Sep-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Italy, Paolo Gentiloni, Hungary, Poland,
Libya, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
