Flujos masivos de población y seguridadLa crisis de personas refugiadas en el Mediterráneo

Zusammenfassung

The growing tide of migrants heading to Europe fleeing economic, social and political conflicts in Africa and the Middle East represents a huge challenge for the European Union as it struggles to control illegal immigration. The civil war in Syria in particular has unleashed an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, which is largely responsible for the record number of refugees worldwide at this time. The constant tragic loss of life at sea, as well as the strain put on the front-line countries of the European Mediterranean coast that receive the refugees, have led to the adoption of exceptional measures to cope with the migrant influx. A military crisis management operation has been set up to counter people trafficking (EUNAVFOR MED Sophia), with the blessing of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2240 (2015). This throws up some important questions: the militarization of an essentially humanitarian problem; proper compliance with the principle of non-refoulement of persons in danger of persecution or serious harm; the absence of a safe access to Europe that is the real cornerstone of the common European asylum system. The second unusual measure is the adoption of two Decisions to relocate people from Greece and Italy to the rest of the EU member states. This is based on the idea of compulsory solidarity among members, but which reveals that not all EU states can guarantee similar levels of safety for those persons who seek protection, which is a core principle of the European policy on asylum. It also highlights the unfair distribution of refugees among States, who share a space for harmonious coexistence whose aim is to be a model for the rest of the world.