![]() Was the situation then really similar to the present? And if so what lessons can be learned from it? Following the NATO air strikes, tens of thousands of refugees gathered at the Blace border crossing into Macedonia at the end of March 1999. 1 Twelve years ago there was another refugee crisis on Europe’s doorstep-that time in Kosovo. With escalating civil war in Libya and political uncertainty elsewhere in North Africa, is the EU prepared for an escalating refugee crisis on its southern shores? On 17th April France temporarily blocked a train carrying some of the Tunisians over the border from Italy, and it subsequently threatened to suspend its Schengen obligation to allow free movement of those with valid papers (see Boeri 2011 also on this site). This request was turned down by other countries and the European Commission as premature.Īs the number of Tunisians arriving topped 28,000, the Italian government issued them with temporary resident permits. On 11 April, Italian Immigration Minister Maroni, invoking a 2001 EU Directive, called for other countries to share the burden by granting temporary protection to some of the refugees. In response the EU brought forward Joint Operation Hermes, an Italian-led Frontex operation to strengthen sea patrols in order to detect and prevent illegal landings on the coasts and outlying islands. Third, it asked for other countries to share the burden through an orderly redistribution of asylum seekers throughout the EU.Īmid warnings of an influx of over a quarter of a million asylum seekers, Italy was joined by the interior ministers of France, Spain, Malta and Cyprus in calling for assistance from the EU. Second, it urged Frontex, the EU border agency, to strengthen its surveillance of the North African Coast to avert the surge of boat people. The relatively peaceful overthrow of president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia initially led to an influx of 6,000 boat people to Lampedusa, a small Mediterranean island that has served as a holding camp for asylum seekers trying to gain admission to Italy.Īs the numbers mounted, the Italian government has sought EU assistance on three fronts.įirst, it asked for upwards of €100 million to help stabilise the situation on Lampedusa. The turmoil in North Africa has led to a surge of migrants across the Mediterranean seeking refuge from the conflict.
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