HANDBOOK ON CSDP
by Jochen Rehrl
European Union/EUNAVFOR MED
4.1. MIGRATION AND CSDP
The CSDP is already being used and has proved to be a useful tool in assisting the EU and its Member States in the management of migration flows.
In his speech on the ‘State of the Union 2016’,1 the President of the European Commission, JeanClaude Juncker, said that we should start our reflection with a sense of realism and with great honesty. ‘First of all, we should admit that we have many unresolved problems in Europe. There can be no doubt about this. … Secondly, we should be aware that the world is watching us. … Thirdly, we should recognise that we cannot solve all our problems with one more speech. Or with one more summit’.2 This is also a good starting point for the topic of migration, which highlights the inextricable link between internal and external security. In the past
few years we have seen a massive influx of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and realised that no single country can face this challenge alone. Migration is not necessarily the biggest challenge in Europe and for Europe, but the migration challenge is very present in our daily discussions, in the mass media and on the streets. Hence the public put it on the agenda of our politicians, who – since then – have been seeking common solutions. Migration is not a seasonal phenomenon; the pressure will likely stay. Our systems were not built with this scenario in mind. Therefore we are seeing overstretches of capacity, loss of trust and credibility in our democratic governments and as a result the rise of populist political parties taking advantage of this situation. Moreover, the soli-
1 Jean-Claude Juncker: The State of the Union 2016. Towards a better Europe – A Europe that protects, empowers and defends. Publications Office of the European Union, 2016. 2 Jean-Claude Juncker, p. 7.
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