Europe is stuck in a need-hate relationship with migrants
gang violence, much of it related to its previously porous border. Migrant-hating populists have surged there, as they also have in Germany. If one thing unites politicians in the EU, it is the certainty that a botched policy on migration will cost them their jobs.
The continent anyway suffers from old divisions. Southern European countries such as Italy and Greece complain that they bear the brunt of EU rules which force countries where migrants arrive to bear the expense of processing them, even though most migrants want to end up in places such as Germany and Sweden. Those rich countries think southerners are flouting the rules by failing to intercept migrants as they set foot in the EU.
One solution mooted for years is a pan-European grand bargain, whereby countries beyond the front lines of migration agree to take in some of the huddled masses. Such a deal was struck in June, and continues to be haggled over. But under the weight of new arrivals it seems to be wobbling.
Another element was an agreement with Tunisia, which many migrants from across the world are using as a stepping stone before crossing the Mediterranean into Europe. The autocratic regime there was in essence to be bribed with EU cash to deter smugglers using its shores. A similar deal with Turkey helped stem the flow in 2016.
But that too is not working well. A meeting of EU leaders on October 6th is meant to cool mounting tempers. For there have been spats aplenty of late.
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