Translation of the article about the problems within the EU.
The immigration crisis has shown that the dream of shared values underlying the EU, far from reality. Instead of working together to find a solution to the problem, EU is torn by contradictions and recriminations within the Union. The leaders of Germany and Sweden should sort out their difficulties on their own, writes Stefan Hedlund.
Does the immigration crisis the cessation of European cooperation? Concern on this score began to spread from the beginning of the year, when the German Commissioner günther Oettinger stated that, despite numerous previous crises, just now I saw a serious threat of collapse of the EU. European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has issued warnings about the economic consequences of limiting internal mobility. Even the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan löfven agreed with him.
There is certainly an element of blackmail, an attempt to impose a single opinion about what needed to be done, painting all in black. Of course, the EU will not collapse. Too many politicians and bureaucrats, who have something to lose in this case. The need to create a common front against Islamic terrorism would also strengthen political cohesion.
At the same time we cannot deny the fact that the migration crisis is very serious. Among the population of the EU countries, there are growing concerns that, obviously, will increase along with the terrorist threat. This increases the pressure on governments in taking effective decisions. But no one could confirm that such decisions are at least in the stage of formulation.
Even if the EU survives, it will be very important to justify paid the price for it. We’ve seen what price the people in Brussels had to pay for the continuation of the existence of a common currency, the Euro. The long – term costs slow development and massive unemployment, especially among young people in countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and a significant loss of confidence in European cooperation as such.
In addition, the migration crisis could destroy the other cornerstone of European cooperation – free movement. The Dublin agreement is de facto not valid, and frustrating to anticipate that the Schengen agreement on the external borders and free movement within the Union in the future will have to save. The year 2016 will definitely be remembered as the year of “barbed wire” as the time when the dream of a Europe without borders was replaced by a strong construction of the wall, as well as political “moats” between countries that were previously friendly relations.
However, the most clear evidence of the approaching collapse has become a fundamental obstacle to European cooperation, namely that illusory forms of cooperation, which was based on shared values and unity in decision-making. It was a beautiful dream, but also dangerous. What we are witnessing today is the consequences of building a practical policy on the basis of dreams that run the risk of delusion, or a simple myth.
The main vision was formed in 1990 in the Treaty of Paris for a new Europe. It was a beautiful text, full of illuminating formulations that formed the basis of European policy. The one who will take the time to read the document, it will hardly be able to ignore the contradiction, then, how much reality differed from myth.
You can not categorically say that the Treaty of Paris has no more power. Prophetic, ideological and religious myths do not cease to have an impact on reality. There will always be clergy, which would be hard to say that that is the reality you need to realize. Cynics will point to the old military scheme, when in case of a discrepancy between maps and terrain, you have to believe the map. This is the consequence of building policy on the basis of inappropriate reality cards, which are now starting to show up.
We have already seen how the EU since the coming to power of Vladimir Putin was focused exclusively on how to build relations with Russia based on common values. Despite the insistence of the Russian side, which required the promotion of dialogue based on common interests, the EU continued stubbornly to broadcast the values. Disaster in Ukraine is a consequence of the explicit opposition of Russian interests to the vague values of Europe.
The immigration crisis has shown that the myth of shared values did not stand the test even in the home. Germany and Sweden have initiated policy based on values, which very few who relates himself. Personal fault of Angela Merkel and Stefan Leuven in this tragedy is that they so persistently refused to realize that their personal moral principles that other people do not share is that the attempt to compel all to common positions had no chance of success.
If each of the EU member States have assumed part of this burden, the consequences would be more fixable. However, to provoke a mass wave of migration, on the grounds that everyone else should follow incorrect Swedish-German example, was so irresponsible that it would be worth revealing to punish.
We are now seeing not only how the construction of the fence on the borders of the EU migration provokes the catastrophe in Greece, the consequences of which are irreparable. We also see that, maybe even more important, as inconsistencies have bred the country to different camps, and it is in those times, when collaborative work on solving other economic and social problems are so necessary.
Swedish post-modernist and extremist denial of the nation-state, moralistic requirement of open acceptance of migrants is being imposed on countries such as Hungary and Slovakia, where people in General are unwilling to accept refugees, especially Muslim. The requirement of Germany on a unified approach to solving the problem contrary to the position of Austria, insisted on a national approach and limiting the number of refugees. Media in different countries contribute to covering up the shame of the neighbors, meet the same myth.
There is a growing likelihood that spreading over Europe, the chaos will finally convince the British public to vote for the rejection of European cooperation. The prospect of such an outcome can no longer be considered absolutely impossible. The last opinion poll showed that supporters of the release has already received some advantage.
Speaking in the fall at the General Assembly, Putin expressed a lot of hard words about the ambitions of the West in the overthrow of regimes in the Arab world and finished his speech with a rhetorical question: “do You realize what you’ve done?” It is this question can and should be asked Merkel and Leven. “You realize what you’ve done?”
SVD – the main Swedish morning newspaper-tabloid, founded in 1884, is positioned as the “independent moderate”. Most of the financial assistance it receives from the state.
Stefan Hedlund Professor Uppsala University, PhD in Economics and Director of the Center for Russian and Eurasian studies of Uppsala University.
Source: Svenska Dagbladet
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