A new 'Berlin Wall'?: How Europe's treatment of migrants clashes with its claimed values

There are plenty of examples. 

A tragic incident in the Mediterranean off the coast of Greece in recent weeks revealed accounts of shocking negligence, inadequate rescue efforts, and even complicity leading to loss of life. Similar tragedies have unfolded in various locations, including Tunisia.

In November 2021, a migrant boat sank in the English Channel between France and Britain, claiming the lives of 31 individuals. There have been catastrophic scenes at crossings over the Polish-Belarusian border, where thousands of migrants have tried to enter what they see as a European paradise.

The plight of these people is regularly ignored or minimised.

When a boat carrying around 700 migrants sank off the coast of Greece, the faltering rescue contrasted sharply with the much more robust efforts to rescue just five people onboard a submarine heading on a tourist trip to the wreckage of the Titanic.

Left-wing Greek politicians even suggested there was deliberate negligence from the right-wing national government over the loss of the migrant ship, while the authorities themselves blamed human traffickers rather than the Coast Guard.

Whatever the cause, around 700 people were officially declared missing after the loss. These lives are likely to have been lost in a desperate and hopeful flight from war or conflict, or at least poverty and uncertainty, at great risk but amid dreams of stability and a better future.

The effects of climate change are likely to make the migration problem worse.

Europe's reality gap on migration

Migration continues to be a highly contentious political issue in Europe, particularly after a series of migration and asylum crises have worsened. In 2022, EU countries received approximately 1 million asylum applications, the highest number since a major influx in 2015.

Throughout,  the EU and its member states claim to be setting up an effective, humanitarian, and secure European migration policy and intensifying efforts to get it in place.  

Undeniably, irregular migration poses significant challenges to destination countries, exacerbates global divisions, and leads to humanitarian disasters.

But the gap between the EU's ambitions and what is happening on the ground and at sea – particularly in the Mediterranean – remains unbridged. And at a significant human cost. According to the United Nations, over 2,500 people were reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea in 2022.

The central Mediterranean route is one of the most perilous migration routes in the world. But that does not put migrants off: The agency policing the EU's external border, Frontex, predicted in May that this year would break records for the number of people trying to get in via irregular means.

Frontex also reported the arrival of 330,000 irregular migrants to the European Union through various migration routes last year, marking the highest number since 2016. These rising numbers have fuelled harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric in several EU countries.

While there is no ongoing cohesive European strategy to deal with migration and asylum flows, the continent's welcome for refugees from Ukraine showed what it is capable of when properly united.

But it did not change the persisting discriminatory practices in dealing with refugees from across the Mediterranean and Africa.

Read more: Is a visa to Europe becoming a modern-day indulgence?

The rise of populism and economic problems and the unequal distribution of the burden among member states have made that kind of wider unity toward all refugees less likely. Some countries on the continent have even resorted to reimposing full border controls.

And on the external border of the continent that relatively recently tore down the Berlin Wall, European countries are rebuilding fences. These new barriers already span some 1,700 kilometres.

Made of metal and concrete blocks, they are going up across vast geographical areas, particularly in the Balkans, in an effort to combat illegal migration and enhance internal security measures.

During an EU meeting on migration, countries expressed differing opinions. Some opposed using EU funds for building walls, while eastern European countries alongside Italy and Greece called for backed barriers as a fundamental solution to the crisis.

Ultimately, they agreed on new measures including enhanced border control between Bulgaria and Turkey and increasing deportation processes for asylum seekers.

Facts from the World Bank dispel misplaced fears

Without a rounded view of migration, taking in a range of perspectives, security concerns and demographic changes tend to dominate the debate.

The World Bank's report on global development, released last April, challenges some preconceived notions. Its statistics refute an exaggerated notion of a massive replacement of European populations by migrants from Africa or other regions.

In reality, the wealthiest European countries host approximately 43 million migrants, including 8 million refugees, notably from Ukraine. Most migrants – 56% – come from other European countries.

The proportion from the Middle East and North Africa is smaller – 13% – and from Sub-Saharan Africa it is lower still – 8% – with a total of 10.3 million people leaving there split between the EU, the UK and the United States.

These numbers undermine the notion of racial replacement, which is an exceptionally provocative issue in Italy.

An ageing European population may change views on immigration

European countries are increasingly grappling with challenges related to aging populations and labour shortages.

Wealthy and aging countries generally rely on immigration or risk a decline in population and economic power. Consequently, selective migration is being considered as an option to address this reality.

There are also signs of a different approach.

In parallel, there is an ongoing discussion about reforming the Common European Asylum System to develop a comprehensive framework that effectively manages asylum and migration. The objective is to make the system more efficient and flexible in addressing the pressures of migration and asylum requests.

Additionally, the French government is seeking to enact a new immigration law to control the number of newcomers, regularise the status of undocumented residents, and regulate illegal migration based on labour market needs.

In Germany, the parliament has recently approved a new immigration law that opens up migration for  skilled workers from outside the EU while regularising the status of thousands of asylum seekers in Germany.

Whatever may happen next, the lack of a global response to immigration and the EU's own lack of unity on the issue will help maintain the ability of populist and extremist voices to exploit the issue.

And there is unlikely to be a decline in the flow of refugees as internal conflict and failed states continue to be a problem. Many young people from Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa, among other areas,  feel there is no other way for them to seek a full, safe and prosperous life in an era of fractured globalisation.