London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

The EU needs to get real about migration

The EU needs to get real about migration

Though it isn’t the “invasion” some politicians say it is, the bloc needs to stop kicking the can down the road, pretending redistribution constitutes a permanent solution.
The new rift between the Czech Republic and Slovakia over temporary border controls should have everyone in the European Union worried.

Prague’s unilateral move to impose these checks came after a 1,200 percent year-on-year increase in the number of those entering the country illegally — most of them young men from Syria. And with another bitter dispute also erupting between Italy and France over migrants rescued at sea, it’s clear that the long-delayed conversation regarding the EU’s long-term goals on mass migration finally has to take place.

These checks show that in the face of a growing crisis, the freedom of movement that is so very central to the European project is now under threat. And at some stage or other, the EU will have to confront the fact that while migrants’ desire for a better life is understandable, the status quo on migration policy — with an emphasis on the redistribution of those who enter the bloc rather than deterrence — promises no long-term solutions for suffering migrants or the simmering discontent of EU citizens.

Though tough measures to combat migration are being imposed by some individual countries, current migration flows across the Continent exploit free movement. And only an international approach that preserves the internal coherence of the Schengen zone has a chance of being sustainable.

The first precondition for such an approach, however, would likely be an end to the demonization of political parties that are tough on migration. This doesn’t necessarily mean admitting they have been proven “right,” rather it simply means accepting that migration is becoming an increasingly important issue for EU citizens — not less — as demonstrated by the recent electoral victories of said parties.

Currently, too many in Europe lazily dismiss those with a tough stance on immigration as “far right” or “extremist.” Indeed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s threat to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition prior to the country’s election suggested she doesn’t trust the new Italian government to uphold EU values.

Yet, it’s important to remember there’s more than one way to protect EU values. And just as the rule of law must be guarded, so too must the proper limits of EU-wide freedoms be maintained.

What’s more, the notion that free movement is threatened by mass migration flows is no longer a fringe view held only by the likes of Meloni and her conservative ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán either. In justifying his nation’s border controls with Slovakia, the Czech Republic’s strongly pro-EU Interior Minister Vít Rakušan has also invoked the same principle.

Accepting the validity of such concerns, EU institutions thus need to shift their focus toward solutions that lie on the bloc’s external borders. So far, however, the Commission’s stance on deterrence has been marked by inconsistency; endorsing Poland’s “firm” stance against migrants trying to enter the EU via Belarus — a hot spot of terrible suffering and deprivation — on the one hand, but punishing Hungary for an unforgiving stance at its Serbian border on the other.

Frustration over such inconsistency has now led Hungary, Austria and Serbia to reach their own agreement, aiming to end what they emotively call “asylum tourism,” through a beefed-up police presence at the North Macedonian border and deportations from Serbia.

As a result, EU leaders now protest that their strategy of focusing on the redistribution of asylum seekers is being hampered by countries on the front line of the migration crisis. But given the criticisms they’ve long faced for their attempts at deterrence, it’s understandable that these countries are skeptical of the EU’s attempts to get a handle on the problem.

And that’s before even considering the efficacy of redistributive systems, which, at their most ideal, are still only quick Band-Aid solutions for the long-term challenge of mass migration.

Whether people have the right to claim asylum in Europe simply because they desire a better life is up for debate, and the socioeconomic consequences of mass migration vary so widely within Europe, it’s impossible to draw general conclusions.

What there can be no doubt about, however, is the suffering that results from attempts to enter and cross Europe illegally. Stopping this suffering is the one indisputable moral imperative raised by the migration crisis — and the only realistic way to achieve it is through deterrence, stopping people from trying to enter the EU except through official channels.

Of course, this will mean tougher policing all around the EU’s periphery because — as the Czech Republic’s controversial border checks have shown — stopping illegal migration outside the bloc’s borders is the only way to preserve freedom of movement within it.

Mass migration isn’t the “invasion” some politicians like to say it is. Still, the EU can no longer kick the can down the road, pretending that merely redistributing migrants constitutes anything near a permanent solution.

Instead, it’s time the EU put its own internal cohesion first, as our failure to deal with migration may well end up making the privileges of modern European life — the very privileges so valued by migrants themselves — unsustainable.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×