EU (not) addressing the refugee crisis

EU leaders are pretending to solve the problem. But most observers remain skeptical about the chance of success of their latest decisions

1. The agreement is contested on grounds of international law. European governments say now the exact opposite of what they were saying in 1989. They were then hailing the fall of Berlin Wall, now they build themselves new walls. Greece is asked to change its own legislation in order to accept that Turkey is a safe country, which is not.

2. Turkey is getting financial help and diplomatic concessions. But it is not applying the agreement. It is allowing or even sending much more new people to the Greek islands every passing day. A reportage by British Chanel Four shows how Turkish coast guards are obliging boats with refugees and immigrants to enter Greek territorial waters. In the same time Turkish aviation violates constantly Greek air space. As for NATO ships, they do everything except addressing the problem for which they are supposed to have come to Eastern Aegean

3. European governments have backtracked from their own decisions about the numbers of  refugees they were going to accept. Instead of exerting the necessary pressure to Turkey, they confirmed their decision to close the Greek borders, thus transferring all the pressure to their fellow member-state of the Union, Greece.

4. Greece has not really any material and technical possibility to apply an agreement which is government – anyway in deep confusion and all the time retreating – was pressured to cosign. Even much better organized states would have difficulty in handling such a situation. Tomorrow, European media will  begin, as it is a fashion these years, to expose “Greek disorganization” and “chaos”. Turkey is receiving six billion euros for the agreement, the crisis has already a cost of one billion euros for Greece, but the latter has received only thirty million. It was promised 700 millions in three years, most of that money going directly to mainly international NGO’s. In the same time the Creditors are pushing hard Tsipras and his government to accept new cuts in pensions and new increases in already exorbitant taxation, thus accelerating the destruction of whatever has remained alive in Greek economy and society, after six years of continuous “help to Greece” by EU, European governments and IMF.