While countries in the north of Europe are given free rein to close their borders by the EU, forces in Brussels have long punished any attempt by nations like Hungary and Italy to protect the EU’s external borders.
In an article for Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Francesa Galici writes that “overly permissive policies imposed by the EU on external borders push countries to impose internal border controls for self-protection. Italy is not allowed.”
The Schengen zone has long been touted as one of the great achievements of the European Union, but mass immigration from non-European lands, namely Asia and Africa, has led to a massive crisis and destroyed the free movement of goods and people.
Notably, due to a series of terror attacks in Germany involving Islamic terrorists in recent months, Germany has responded by closing its borders and reintroducing border checks. Although the country’s own police union has trashed his policy as highly ineffective and undermanned, it nonetheless has started a chain reaction among other European nations, including the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Sweden.
The decisions from Sweden and Denmark come after shots were fired at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, followed by two explosions in Copenhagen near the diplomatic representation of Tel Aviv.
Using the pretext of the terror threat, Sweden and Denmark were able to close their borders as well.
“Unfortunately, recent events confirm that the terrorist threat against Denmark is serious. We are closely monitoring the current situation, assessing its relevance to the overall threat landscape and implementing the necessary security measures on an ongoing basis,” said Peter Ekebjærg, chief inspector of police.
Sweden also sent an official statement to the European Union, informing — and not asking — that it has extended increased controls to all borders: water, land and air.
However, while Il Giornale notes that these border policies are understandable in light of terror threats, they are due to a permissive and wide-open external border.
“The hands of border countries, such as Italy or Hungary, but also Greece, are tied and prevented from adopting effective solutions to make Europe’s borders less permeable,” writes the Italian paper. “This forces internal countries to close themselves off and as a consequence has isolated external countries, forced to manage emergency situations autonomously. Faced with all this, it is clear that the European Union’s migration policies have failed — Even if Brussels and Strasbourg still do not want to admit it.”
However, Italy itself has attacked its own politicians for attempting to enforce its own border. Notably, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is facing six years in prison for refusing to allow migrants to disembark at an Italian port during his tenure as interior minister.
Hungary itself was hit with a €200 million fine from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for blocking migrants from applying for asylum on its territory and other measures to protect its border. The EU is also withholding billions of euros until Hungary begins implementing an open borders policy.
Other countries such as Greece have also come under pressure from the EU for “pushbacks” at sea, in which the Greek navy and coast guard boats attempt to block migrants from entering Greek territory.
The contrast is apparent. EU states like Germany, which is run by a government close to the Brussels left-liberal power bloc and its agenda, is essentially allowed to seal its borders while those nations on the frontline are harassed and harangued for protecting not only their own nation-states, but also preventing migrants from reaching other member states.
This move, however, will only lead to the further disintegration of the free movement of people and goods that was supposed to be one of the main reasons behind the EU in the first place, and national newspapers like Il Giornale appear to be noticing this trend more and more.
