Migration 'Math' EU Leaders Fight for the Right Formula

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has said a quota system to resettle refugees and migrants needed to have a formula for letting genuine refugees, rather than economic migrants into the European Union.

Since January, around 350,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Europe and its neighboring countries, according to the International Organization for Migration. That’s more than three times the equivalent figure recorded in 2014. More than 100,000 crossing were recorded in July alone – triple the amount in the same month the year before.

Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey at Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 15, 2015

© REUTERS / Umit Bektas

Greece has witnessed a 750 percent increase in the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers arriving on its shores with more than 160,000 seeking refuge and official documents.

Explore our new #Mediterranean data portal on 2015 sea arrivals to #Europe: http://t.co/ov6Jvx0dB6 pic.twitter.com/ebgR5IgpYr

— UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) September 8, 2015

With the numbers set to continue and a quota system still missing, could the EU be falling short in its mathematical formula?

The European Commission is calling for 160,000 people from Italy, Greece and Hungary to be re-settled in Czech Republic and Slovakia — 4,306 and 2,287 respectively. But up until now those two countries have refused to take in any migrants. And even if they did, there would still be a deficit of around 150,000 people.

Still a deadly month in Mediterranean as IOM’s #MissingMigrants Project recorded 58 deaths at sea since noon Friday http://t.co/fxZQ2Ng8CP

— IOM (@IOM_news) September 8, 2015

Meanwhile Ireland has agreed to take in 5,000, France — 31,000, Austria — 14,000 and Germany 40,000. That brings the total number of potential places in EU countries to 90,000. But that’s still 70,000 short of the number of people from Italy, Greece and Hungary that the EC wants to be re-settled.

Numbers of asylum seekers and refugees have been banded around between European leaders all summer with a quota system proposed by the EC president Jean-Claude Juncker for all EU member states to reasonably share 120,000 asylum seekers so far rejected.

A European Commission proposal to take an extra 120,000 more refugees across Europe will be unveiled on Wednesday 9 September by Juncker – but it seems the figures are already out of date. 

More than 7,000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants have arrived on the Greek island of Kos in the last month meanwhile on Lesvos, 2,000 refugees and migrants are arriving on the island every day.

The UK will resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the course of this Parliament as part of our comprehensive response to this crisis.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 7, 2015

The UK has agreed to take in 20,000 refugees – but only directly from Syrian refugee camps.

So it seems the mathematical formula for the quota system needs further scrutiny before dividing people into different categories, as suggested by the Austrian Chancellor.