Forced Migration: A Challenge for European Solidarity

JRS Ireland has today (21/5/2014) called on the Irish public to safeguard the vision of Europe’s founding fathers of a union underpinned by solidarity and human rights. 

At the launch of the latest edition of Working Notes, Eugene Quinn, JRS Ireland National Director, said: "How the European Union responds to the modern challenges presented by forced migration is a defining moment in its history. 

Mr. Quinn continued:

"Voters in the elections to the European Parliament now face stark questions about whether the European Union stays true to its founding value of solidarity."

The EU must meet three key challenges in relation to forced migration: ensuring adequate protection of migrants and asylum seekers at external EU borders; ensuring that consistent and just asylum structures are in place across Member States and making a real commitment to admitting significant numbers of refugees under resettlement programmes.

Mr. Quinn added:

“The European Union must assume a fair share of the task of providing refuge to vulnerable migrants, a burden which is disproportionately borne by poorer nations.  It cannot continue to respond to international refugee crises with open pockets but closed borders.”

Other articles in this issue of Working Notes discuss the underlying unease and uncertainty concerning the future of the European Union, and debate whether this future is unlikely to be as envisaged during the years of rapid EU expansion. 

Read the Working Notes article in full HERE.