Europe | Charlemagne

Why Europe’s asylum policy desperately needs rebooting

A deadly shipwreck in Greek waters highlights its dangers

Image: Peter Schrank

If there is one thing Europeans like more than August off and coalition governments, it is a half-baked EU project. The euro brought much of the continent into a currency union, which ended up causing endless division when it turned out the requisite plumbing had not been installed. The single market is a triumph for goods like cars and widgets, but works poorly for the services that now dominate the economy. Migration has long been another will-complete-mañana policy. Internal borders were scrapped within most of the bloc almost 30 years ago. But the messy business of how to deal with the external border—and the hundreds of thousands who cross it illegally year after year—was given too little thought. The upshot has been a chaotic asylum system, leaving thousands dead in the Mediterranean each year and fuelling the rise of populist politicians. On June 14th at least 78 migrants died when an overcrowded fishing vessel capsized in Greek waters; hundreds more remain unaccounted for.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The insane asylum policy, rebooted”

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