Terror response shifts policy on refugees

Following the horror of the terrorist attacks in Paris it was inevitable that the EU's refugee strategy would come under the spotlight. Despite the fact that most of the Paris attackers were French and Belgian citizens, the fact that three of the suspects are believed to have travelled back to Europe from Syria, some posing as refugees, has aligned the terrorist and refugee issues for some.

France's indication that it will resist further attempts to accept refugees will be a major blow to the European Union's policy on handling the refugee crisis. France is not alone. Almost immediately after the November 13th attacks a number of East European countries declared their intention not to participate in the EU's mandatory relocation plan.

Under the plan, agreed in September, would see member states accept 120,000 refugees arriving in Italy and Greece, in addition to a figure of 40,000 agreed earlier in the year. Just a day after the attack, Poland's new government said it no longer saw "the political possibility of respecting the plan". Slovakia has already initiated legal action over the mandatory quota scheme.

While the relocation plan was agreed in September, overcoming visceral opposition from some member states, the longer term plan is for a permanent relocation mechanism. The prospect of such a proposal being adopted seems increasingly unlikely.

French resistance to accepting more refugees is a particular problem for the commission. Donald Tusk, the head of the European Council, has been wary of an open-door policy for the refugee crisis, instead emphasising the need to secure Schengen's external borders.

The commission, under Jean-Claude Juncker, proposed a permanent relocation scheme for refugees arriving at Greek and Italian shores even before the summer’s migration crisis which saw unprecedented numbers of refugees fleeing for Europe.

In this respect, Juncker is closely aligned to German chancellor Angela Merkel – last month's summit of a core group of EU countries and Balkan states was widely believed to have been called at the behest of Merkel and Juncker. Yesterday Merkel reiterated her call for equitable burden-sharing of the refugee problem across the bloc, saying it was not acceptable for some countries to say "this has nothing to do with me".

This week the migration issue will loom large on the EU's agenda. Today, the European Parliament is due to debate the issue of migration and the outcome of the Valletta Summit on November 11th and 12th at the plenary session in Strasbourg.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will also address MEPs on the latest response on the terrorist attacks in France and the outcome of last Friday's emergency justice and home affairs meeting at which EU member states agreed to implement tougher checks on EU citizens re-entering the Schengen area through the bloc's external borders.

In addition European Council president Donald Tusk has called an EU-Turkey summit for Sunday in Brussels to discuss offering a potential €3 billion package to Turkey in exchange for help on the refugee crisis. The meeting, which was scheduled before yesterday's shooting down of a Russian military plane by Turkey, will take place despite Brussels remaining at maximum alert.

Engagement with Turkey is likely to be endorsed by member states, including France, who are anxious to stem the tide of undocumented migrants entering the EU through its eastern neighbour. The climate of fear in countries such as Belgium and France may well mean that reducing the flow of migrants leaving the Middle East for Europe trumps humanitarian and legal responsibilities.