The EU Tries, Tries and Tries Again to Address the Migrant and Refugee Crisis

The EU Tries, Tries and Tries Again to Address the Migrant and Refugee Crisis
A Syrian woman fries eggs in front of her tent at Ritsona refugee camp, Greece, July 14, 2016 (AP photo by Petros Giannakouris).

Hungarian President Viktor Orban announced in early July that Hungary would hold a referendum in October on the European Union’s plan to redistribute 120,000 refugees from Greece and Italy throughout the union through a quota system. Orban, who has clashed with EU leaders in Brussels since he came to power in 2010, has been a vocal critic of the EU’s response to the migrant and refugee crisis since its onset. Hungary was the first country to close its borders to migrants and refugees at the height of the influx, and the planned referendum is his latest rebuke of EU policy.

Hungary isn’t alone. Other Central and Eastern European countries are increasingly critical of Brussels. Slovenia has filed a lawsuit against the EU and its refugee quota system, a case that is still ongoing.

In addition to the plan to redistribute asylum-seekers, the EU has also brokered a deal with Turkey to limit the number of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe in the first place. Under the agreement, Greece can return all irregular migrants to Turkey in exchange for the EU increasing the number of Syrian refugees it resettles from refugee camps in Turkey, as well as financial aid to Ankara and other concessions.

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