No borders in Europe

In the 1950s, Europe looked at the rubble and devastation that had been caused by two world wars and decided to form a union in order to prevent such atrocities happening again in the future. Over the following years the EU grew in peace and prosperity as the people laid aside their differences and worked together for a fairer, safer and more just society. An important component of this process was the signing of the Schengen agreement over 30 years ago, which guaranteed the free movement of people across borders within the Union. The lack of borders in the EU gave people the freedom to live and work where they wished and as a result trade and economies grew with free movement across the continent.

'No Borders' is the name of a pro-migration movement in the UK and in Europe, which recognises the benefits and the right of individuals to choose where to live. This is a concept the UK as a whole has never been particularly good at, as we opted out of the Schengen agreement and maintained our border controls. However the recent border closures we are witnessing in South-East Europe in response to the ever growing number of migrants in Greece is a worrying sign. Recently Austria and several Balkan states had a summit to agree on these border controls, to limit the flow of migrants, leading to an ever growing problems at various points along the migrants' route in the Balkans. In disgust, Greece withdrew its foreign minister from Vienna, accusing the Austrians of breaking EU rules. The reaction of certain EU members and especially the UK to the migrant crisis has been a shameful failure to live up to many of the ideals of the Union and now seems to threaten its very existence.

Refugees continue to arrive at the closed border crossing in Idomeni, Northern Greece. 

In recent years the EU has been had to endure a number of challenges, including financial crashes and instability on our doorstep, and thus far the Union has remained in one piece. No-one can deny that the migrant crisis of unprecedented magnitude and severity and will no doubt put strains on our resources, however, if there is any political unit able to cope with trans-boundary issues as big as this surely it should be the EU? We need to remember the history of the Union from its war-torn beginnings and the prosperity that can be brought by the free movement of people. We need to engage with this issue and search for solutions as a whole. If we do, our Union will more resilient and stronger as a result, and better able to cope with the future challenges we will face.

Thanks to the anonymous comment on the last post with the link to this fantastic TED talk. Lets keep the discussion going and keep pushing for justice.