CFR Blog Update: Sea and Land Deaths Deepen European Migration Crisis

TOP OF THE AGENDA Sea and Land Deaths Deepen European Migration Crisis Two boats believed to be transporting refugees to Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Friday with more than two hundred people feared dead (Guardian). More than 300,000 people have attempted to cross (Deutsche Welle) the Mediterranean to Europe this year and about 2,500 have died on the journey, according to UN data. Meanwhile, Austrian authorities confirmed the deaths (NYT) of seventy-one migrants, likely Syrians fleeing conflict, in an abandoned truck lorry. Four arrests have been made in connection to a suspected organization smuggling migrants from Hungary into Austria. Migration is a divisive issue in the European Union and member states have failed to produce a unified response to the influx of people.  ANALYSIS "Some officials speak of tackling the networks that enable migrants to make their epic journeys across deserts and mountains. The best hope, many argue, is to convince so-called 'countries of origin' to crack down on smugglers. Yet ruthless as they may be, smugglers are meeting a demand, and plenty of transit countries enjoy the economic activity they bring," writes the Economist. "When the pressure increases in the future, it may well be that the states have second thoughts on their sovereignty at the borders and want to protect their own little fortress. The freedom to travel without identity checks in the countries of the so-called 'Schengen Area' could be in danger. Could the issue of migration, regardless of all the social problems, be a political bomb for the EU?" writes Bernd Riegert in Deutsche Welle. "Choosing to go it alone on migration sends the wrong message—that the Hungarian government rejects EU solidarity. It is not accidental that other countries at the southern periphery of the EU that are most exposed to the migrants (for example, Greece and Italy) prefer joint EU-level solutions instead of pursuing solo attempts to solve their migration issues. If Hungary finds itself isolated, it will be extremely difficult to deal with a mass inflow of migrants without the help of other member states," write Peter Kreko and Attila Juhasz in Foreign Affairs.