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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Jul-2018
4-Jul-18 World View -- German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria

Web Log - July, 2018

4-Jul-18 World View -- German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria

Egypt refuses to build refugee camps for migrants deported from Europe

by John J. Xenakis

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria
Egypt refuses to build refugee camps for migrants deported from Europe

German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria

A migrant holds a sarcastic protest sign after failing to enter the EU (Reuters)

A migrant holds a sarcastic protest sign after failing to enter the EU (Reuters)

The government of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to be near collapse on Monday, because of a challenge by the leader of another party in her governing coalition. Horst Seehofer, leader of the Bavarian CSU party, was demanding that Merkel agree to tough new rules regarding migrants -- that migrants crossing the border from Austria into Germany who are registered in another EU country will automatically be rejected and sent back.

Since Seehofer is also Minister of the Interior, he has the power to enforce that rule by himself, without Merkel's permission. But if he had done so, then Merkel would have been forced to fire him, resulting in the withdrawal of the CSU from the governing coalition, and the collapse of Merkel's government.

This situation has resulted in a great deal of anger and shouting in Berlin, according to reports. At one point Seehofer threatened to resign, saying angrily, "I won’t let myself be sacked by a chancellor whom I made chancellor in the first place," referring to the fact that the CSU joined Merkel's governing coalition last year.

However, let's face it, Merkel and Seehofer are both politicians who crave power, and the collapse of Merkel's government would put both of them out of power. So a way had to be found that would save face for both of them, and allow them both to remain in power.

The solution was a fudge, kicking the can down the road in a remarkable manner: Germany will set up migrant refugee camps on the border, and border controls will be set up to stop registered asylum seekers at the border. If there's a bilateral deal with the country of registration, the refugees will be sent back.

But here's the really amazing part: The refugee camps will be deemed to be part of the border and not part of either country, which means that the refugees will not be legally deemed to have crossed the border into Germany. Germany would be allowed to expel them from Germany because they never legally were in Germany.

This deal doesn't solve anything, but supposedly it kicks the can down the road to the Bavarian elections in October, at which time the government may collapse anyway. The deal may not even be legal -- officials in the European Commission have said that they'll be reviewing it.

But we've had so many proposals for refugee camps for migrants in the last few months, and I don't believe any of them have succeeded, so there's no reason to believe that refugee camps on the border between Germany and Austria will succeed either. Austria has already said that it will refuse to take back refugees under any circumstances, and so these new border refugee camps will presumably just become flooded with refugees, until the government is forced to let them all go. Whether Merkel and Seehofer have a solution to that problem remains to be seen.

This proposal could make things worse for the entire European Union in that it may cause a chain reaction of border closings by different countries, essentially bringing the Schengen Zone agreement to an end. Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic have already threatened to introduce controls on their borders in response to the new German plan. Handelsblatt (Germany) and Reuters and Irish Times and Sky News

Egypt refuses to build refugee camps for migrants deported from Europe

It was just a few days ago that a summit of EU leaders came up with a plan for "Regional Disembarkation Platforms." These would be, once again, migrant refugee camps. But this time, they would be located in countries in northern Africa, away from the EU. ( "30-Jun-18 World View -- EU leaders agree on fantasy migration plan after all-night meeting")

The idea is that migrants would be rescued from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, but instead of being taken to Italy or another EU country, they would be taken to a Disembarkation Platforms in northern Africa. Their asylum requests would be processed, and if rejected they would be sent back to the countries of origin.

Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia immediately announced that they would not permit Disembarkation Platforms to be hosted on their soil, and on Tuesday, Egypt announced that it would not permit them in Egypt. Egyptian Parliament Speaker Ali Abdul Aal said:

"EU reception facilities for migrants in Egypt would violate the laws and constitutions of our country. Our capacities are already utilized today; therefore, it is important that Egypt receives support from Germany and the EU."

The same EU Summit meeting also agreed to set up "Controlled Centers" in EU countries, "on a voluntary basis." Once again, this would just be another name for a migrant refugee camps. France and Austria immediately announced that they would not be willing to host Controlled Centers on their soil.

There have been many proposals in recent weeks, in Europe and the United States, and these proposals all have some kind of refugee camp or refugee prison or refugee detention center as a core proposal. These proposals always result in enormous national and international outrage, as well as political chaos. It remains to be seen if any of them will work. Middle East Monitor and Reuters

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(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 4-Jul-18 World View -- German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (4-Jul-2018) Permanent Link
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Egypt refuses to build refugee camps for migrants deported from Europe

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Jul-2018
4-Jul-18 World View -- German leaders agree to migrant refugee camps on border with Austria