The European Commission is taking steps to punish Eastern European nations who are refusing to accept refugees, principally, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Below is my translation of a story running today in the Telegraaf.
http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/28374171/__EC_roept_Oost-Europa_op_matje__.html
Commission calls Eastern Europeans on mat
Ruud Mikkers
The patience of the European Commission with Eastern European countries that stubbornly refuse to cooperate with the relocation of refugees from Greece and Italy is up. Wednesday starts a formal procedure against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
That is what sources in Brussels report. The countries must give the Commission an explanation why they are not sufficiently contributing to the acceptance of recognized refugees. If the explanation is insufficient, a fine follows.
Poland and Hungary have recorded zero refugees, the Czech Republic, 12 and (is not accepting more) in the meantime. For the Netherlands, the count is over 1,900.
flooded EU
The mandatory quota for asylum dates from September 2015 when the EU was flooded by refugees in old boats arriving in Italy and Greece. The idea was to distribute the asylum seekers fairly among the EU countries, but the system has been stuck from day one, mainly because of the stubborn refusal of some Eastern European countries to participate.
The issue has now (come to a head ) with the Commission. Commission President Juncker was in the Czech Republic last Friday but there was no agreement.
reforms difficult
Attempts to reform the European asylum system are deadlocked by all the disagreements. The Germans threaten to link European subsidies, which Eastern Europeans rely upon, to their willingness to take on refugees. However, this could only be after the current budget cycle from the EU that runs to 2020.
In Brussels anyway, the hope is based on the revitalized French-German axis to relieve the troublesome issue.
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