Editorial The vital test for Europe is to guard its humanitarian values and urgently develop policies for integration and harmonious coexistence
T
he populations’ flow, the refugees and the economic migrants represent one of the most challenging and urgent
issues of our time. They create an identity crisis, potentially harmful for the cohesion of the European Union and the survival of its pluralistic democratic values. Populist autocratic leaders have raised the threat of migrants as their primary campaigning issue to polarize the European societies and gain power. There are several causes for this urgent situation. Firstly, in today’s modern world, people are more interconnected via mobile phones and social media and get faster information and easier transportation. The increasing economic inequality between the
Stelios Zavvos, Chairman, SolidarityNow
countries attract migration flows to the most prosperous, affluent, and accessible countries. There are geopolitical factors. The destructive war in Iraq resulted in the weakening of Pax Americana in the Middle East and lead to many regional conflicts which produced large migration flows to neighboring countries with destination the more affluent countries in northern Europe.
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