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Dozens of Migrants Drown as Refugee Crisis Continues to Flummox Europe Dozens of Migrants Drown as European Refugee Crisis Continues
(about 4 hours later)
LONDON — More than 40 people — including 17 children — died when two wooden boats full of migrants trying to reach Greece sank early Friday morning, a sign that asylum seekers continue to take grave risks to reach Europe even as officials seek new ways to shore up the Continent’s borders. LONDON — More than 40 people — including 17 children — died when two wooden boats full of migrants trying to reach Greece sank early Friday morning, as a continued flow of asylum seekers even in dangerous winter weather put new pressure on European leaders to address a crisis that seems likely to intensify again come spring.
Citing the Greek Coast Guard, The Associated Press said that the two boats carrying migrants from Turkey had sunk near Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. The coast guard rescued dozens of survivors and was continuing to search the area by sea and air. The authorities said the two boats had sunk near Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea as they carried migrants from Turkey toward Greece. The Greek Coast Guard rescued dozens of survivors and was continuing to search the area by sea and air, The Associated Press reported.
Greece is the most popular entry point into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Buffeted by conflict and war, they have been making the perilous journey to Europe: Almost 37,000 migrants are reported to have arrived by sea and land this month, according to the International Organization for Migration. Greece is the most popular entry point into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Almost 37,000 migrants are reported to have arrived in Greece and Italy by sea and land this month, according to the International Organization for Migration, 10 times the number in the same period last year.
The continued influx of migrants — more than a million asylum seekers reached the Continent last year — has exasperated European leaders. In the first three weeks of this year, at least 113 people died trying to make the sea crossing to Europe, the agency said, compared with 94 for all of January last year.
Despite the evidence that migrants from the Middle East and Africa are continuing to flee war and poverty in their home countries and will strike out to Europe again in huge numbers this year, European leaders have taken no major new steps to curb the flow. They have also not agreed on a comprehensive border policy or prepared for another influx that could rival last year’s, when more than a million asylum seekers reached the Continent, many of them headed to Germany.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France issued a stark warning in an interview broadcast on Friday about the future of a unified Europe, saying the very idea was under threat unless the Continent could protect its borders.Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France issued a stark warning in an interview broadcast on Friday about the future of a unified Europe, saying the very idea was under threat unless the Continent could protect its borders.
Speaking to the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Valls said that the Continent could not accommodate the enormous numbers of migrants and warned that they could destabilize European societies. Speaking to the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Valls said the Continent could not accommodate the enormous numbers of migrants and warned that they could destabilize European societies. “If Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it’s the very idea of Europe that will be questioned,” he said. “Europe has forgotten that borders are required.”
“If Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it’s the very idea of Europe that will be questioned,” Mr. Valls said. “Europe has forgotten that borders are required.” The Schengen zone, which permits largely unchecked movement across most of the Continent and was described by Mr. Valls as “one of the great European projects,” has been under severe strain as countries have introduced border controls aimed at stemming the flow of migrants.
The Schengen Zone, which permits largely unchecked movement across most of the Continent and was described by Mr. Valls as “one of the great European projects,” has been under severe strain as countries have introduced border controls aimed at stemming the flow of migrants. Over the summer, Hungary erected a razor-wire fence on its border with Croatia. This month, Sweden, once one of the most welcoming of nations for refugees, introduced identity checks for travelers arriving from Denmark in an effort to curb their numbers. Austria announced this week that it would limit the number of refugees it takes in this year to 37,500, down from 90,000 in 2015.
Over the summer, Hungary erected a razor-wire fence on its border with Croatia. This month, Sweden, once one of the most welcoming of nations for refugees, introduced identity checks for travelers arriving from Denmark in an effort to curb their numbers. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has come under increasing pressure at home and abroad for the country’s more welcoming approach to refugees. Mr. Valls, while acknowledging that she had “courage,” said, “The first message we need to send now, with the greatest firmness, is to say that we will not welcome all the refugees in Europe.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has come under increasing pressure at home and abroad for the country’s more welcoming approach to refugees. Mr. Valls, while acknowledging that she had “courage,” said that “the first message we need to send now, with the greatest firmness, is to say that we will not welcome all the refugees in Europe.” Ms. Merkel met on Friday with Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, the latest in a series of discussions between the countries about what more Turkey could do to keep the refugees pouring over its border with Syria from traveling on to Western Europe. Ms. Merkel again promised that the European Union would find 3 billion euros to assist Turkey in offering work and schooling to more than two million Syrians who have fled there.
“You have to find a solution in Syria and Iraq. And you have to destroy Daesh,” Mr. Valls added in his interview with the BBC, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Mr. Davutoglu made no concrete promises in return, making clear that Ankara believes it has leverage in negotiations on the issue with Europeans – like Ms. Merkel – who dragged out European Union membership talks with Turkey in the past, in part because of concern over human rights abuses in Turkey.
“You need a political process,” he said, adding that for Syria that would “take time.” “We are not begging for the E.U. money,” Mr. Davutoglu told the German news agency DPA. “The 3 billion euros are only there to show the political will to share the burden.”
President Obama offered backing for Ms. Merkel on Thursday, telling her that the United States would provide “substantial” support to efforts to ease the refugee crisis stemming from the conflict in Syria, before an international donors conference to address the issue next month. President Obama offered backing for Ms. Merkel on Thursday, telling her that the United States would provide “substantial” support to efforts to ease the refugee crisis stemming from the conflict in Syria before an international donors conference to address the issue next month, Ms. Merkel’s office said in a statement.
Mr. Obama spoke with Ms. Merkel by telephone to discuss the need for increased support for the refugees, along with other international issues including the conflict in Ukraine and the coming NATO summit meeting in Warsaw, Ms. Merkel’s office said in a statement. Ms. Merkel is one of the hosts of the donor conference, which will take place in London on Feb. 4. “The president said that the U.S. administration would take part in a substantial way,” her office said.
Ms. Merkel is one of the hosts of the donors conference, which will take place in London on Feb. 4. “The president said that the U.S. administration would take part in a substantial way,” her office said. At the World Economic Forum, Secretary of State John Kerry said Mr. Obama would work to increase global humanitarian funding at a United Nations summit meeting this fall and expand the number of nations taking refugees.
Austria, previously her strongest European ally on the issue, changed course this week, announcing it would limit the number of refugees it takes in this year to 37,500, down from 90,000 in 2015.
In Davos, Mr. Valls also said that France intended to maintain the state of emergency it had introduced after terrorist attacks in Paris in November until a “total and global war” against the Islamic State had ended. He told the BBC that France could be targeted again and that the country had foiled six plots in recent months.
Under the state of emergency, French law enforcement officers have raided thousands of homes and businesses, arrested hundreds of people and closed down some mosques and prayer rooms over concerns that they were preaching extremist views.
The threat of terrorism and the concern over the migrant influx have become intertwined since the Paris attacks, after several of the assailants were found to have made their way to Europe by disguising themselves among migrants.