EUROPEAN CRISIS: Key Developments of the Past

48 Hours
November 16, 20151
POLITICS
(Based on news reports)
Fridays deadly Paris attacks led some European leaders
to draw links between this latest outbreak of terrorism
and Europes ongoing refugee crisis.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
said Sunday that "those who organized these attacks, and
those who carried them out, are exactly those who the
refugees are fleeing." Juncker told reporters at the G-20
summit in Turkey that "there is no need to revise the
European Union's entire refugee policy."
France
Just hours after Fridays attacks, Marine Le Pen, the
leader of Frances far-right National Front party, called
on the government to ban Islamist groups and close
radical mosques. Political experts have said that the
National Front stands to benefit most from regional
elections scheduled for December. On Monday Le Pen
reiterated her stance, telling media that France should
immediately end all reception of migrants.

1 Reports from OSIFE and news analysis

1

Hungary
In a speech to parliament today, Prime Minister Viktor
Orban lashed out at the European asylum regulations.
As long as this government can breathe, there will be no
quotas and no refoulement, he said, even though under
EU regulations countries may send asylum seekers back
to the first country they entered for processing. What is
humane? Closing the borders to illegal invaders or
risking the lives of innocent Europeans? he asked.
Now even those who have lived in the delusion of
multiculturalism and have wanted to impose it upon us
can see where all that leads, Orban added, dismissing
what he called "the suicidal predisposition of the
European intellectuals" as responsible for the terrorist
attacks in Paris.
Slovakia
On Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico echoed
statements by leaders in Latvia, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic saying Muslims in his country pose a potential
threat.
With the exception of Norways [Anders Behring]
Breivik mass shooting, virtually every time there has
been a terrorist attack, representatives of the Muslims
were responsible. Therefore if we have these people
staying in Slovakia, legally its our duty to verify
whether they have contacts with problematic persons,
Fico told reporters.
2

Germany
European officials have expressed concern after a
passport discovered close to the body of one of the Paris
attackers was found to have been used last month passing
through Greece and the Balkans.
Germany's defense minister Ursula von der Leye
said Sunday however that linking Europe's migrant
crisis to the threat of terrorism would be wrong.
She says that "terrorism is so well organized that it
doesn't have to risk the arduous refugee routes, and
the sometimes life-threatening crossings at sea."
Germanys President Joachim Gauck began a speech on
Sunday by remembering those killed in the Paris attacks
and pledging solidarity with the people of France.
Gauck describes Friday's attacks as "a new kind of
war" and says the perpetrators had struck open
societies worldwide.
He said those responsible, and those who support
them, should know that "we'll bow our heads to the
dead, but we'll never bow to terror."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pressed her
country's case for a fair distribution of the refugees
coming to Europe.
3

 Merkel said Sunday on the sidelines of the G-20

meeting in Antalya, Turkey, that findings ways to
combat the causes of displacement would be one of
the main topics of the summit.
She said she had already discussed the matter with
King Salman of Saudi Arabia and planned to talk
separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin
and U.S. President Barack Obama about the issue.
Merkel said that securing Europe's borders and
ensuring those deserving of protection receive it
should be a priority.
She added that "of course we also face the
expectation that there will be a fair distribution of
refugees in Europe."
European Union
Balkan authorities are tracking the travels of the owner
of a Syrian passport that was found next to a suicide
bomber's body at France's national stadium on Friday
night.
Officials in Greece say the passport's owner entered
the country Oct. 3 through Leros, one of the eastern
Aegean islands that tens of thousands of people
fleeing war and poverty have been using as a
gateway into the European Union.
4

 Serbian police say he registered at its border entry

with Macedonia on Oct. 7.
Croatian police say he was checked at a refugee
center on Oct. 8.
It is still not yet clear whether the Syrian passport is
fake or real, or whether it belonged to the dead
bomber. European officials say there is a brisk trade
in fake Syrian passports to help people get refugee
status in the EU.
European Union President Donald Tusk says signs have
emerged that attacks on moderate opposition forces in
Syria are creating a new flood of refugees. Tusk told
reporters at the G20 summit in Turkey on Sunday that
such attacks will "only result (in) a new wave of
refugees. And we have some signals that in fact it's
started."
The U.S and its allies say Russian warplanes in
Syria have mostly targeted moderate opponents of
President Bashar Assad instead of their declared
main target, the Islamic State group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the
allegations.
Tusk did not mention Russia by name but said that
the Islamic State is "the real enemy of the free
world, not the moderate Syrian opposition."
Poland

 Poland's incoming government leaders declared

Saturday that they would not accept refugees
without security guarantees.
Poland previously agreed to take in some 5,000 of
the estimated 800,000 refugees who have arrived in
Europe this year.
Juncker urged them "to be serious about this, and
not to give in (to) these basic reactions I don't like."
Macedonia
Macedonia's Security Council has ordered the army to
start preparations to possibly erect a fence on the border
with neighboring Greece to restrict the flow of migrants.
Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov presided at a
Security Council meeting late Saturday following
the attacks in Paris. Officials are concerned that if
other countries where asylum-seekers are headed
restrict their flow, Macedonia will end up with a
longer stays for a higher number of migrants.
Ivanov has said that more than 8,500 migrants have
entered the country unregistered through illegal
border crossings from Greece.
A statement issued after the meeting says the
Security Council "emphasizes that a fence would
not be aimed at closing the border, but channeling
and limiting the flow of the migrants."

 The statement also says "this step would be taken as

a last resort."
United States
Michigan's Republican governor Rick Snyder said in a
statement Sunday that the state is postponing efforts to
accept refugees until federal officials fully review
security clearances and procedures.
Snyder says Michigan is "proud of our rich history of
immigration" but that Michigan's "priority is protecting
the safety of our residents."
Several GOP candidates have criticized the Obama
administration's plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees
and urge much greater scrutiny.
Sweden
Swedish police are increasing checks of asylum facilities
in the southwestern city of Malmo after reports that
refugees have left to avoid being registered by
immigration officials.
The move comes after Sweden announced Thursday
that it would introduce border checks requiring
migrants to register with authorities and make it
harder to use Sweden as a transit country to get to
Norway and Finland.

 Swedish news agency TT reported that dozens of

people climbed a high fence at an asylum center in
Malmo on Saturday, bringing the number of
refugees to some 150 who have avoided
registration.
Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said Sunday that
the situation was out of order and "wasn't meant to
work like that."
More than 120,000 people have applied for asylum
in Sweden this year, the highest number relative to
population size in Europe.

FROM THE GROUND

Everyone safe: We have checked over the weekend with
all colleagues travelling in France, and with our French
colleagues and so far everyone seems to be safe and well.
First reactions by our grantees and partners: Grantees
and partners in France have started to react over the
weekend to the horrific events in Paris.
The French Human Rights League (Ligue des Droits de
lHomme) issued a resolution condemning the killings,
showing sympathy for victims and families and

cautioning about the need to keep exceptional measures

temporary.
Lila Charef, from the Council Against Islamophobia
(Conseil Contre lIslamophobie en France) commented:
This context makes our working conditions harder, but
we will continue our fight. Our society needs it more
than ever. We have asked our key grantees to inform us
about developments (related to Islamophobic speech and
violence or changes towards refugees) and will convene
them in Brussels in ten days.
END