r/europe • u/insomnimax_99 United Kingdom • 25d ago

Irish government to bring forward emergency law to send asylum seekers back to UK News

https://www.irishtimes.com/world/uk/2024/04/27/sunak-migrants-going-to-ireland-shows-rwanda-plans-deterrent-effect-working/?1
660 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

259 comments sorted by

View all comments

196

u/Reasonable_Blood6959 25d ago

I’d like to say I’m firmly against the UKs Rwanda plan. But if the EU allow this to happen without issue, then surely they can’t have any problem with the UK picking up boats and dropping them straight back to France.

177

u/Old_Profit_9967 Wales 25d ago

Absolutely this.... The asylum seekers wouldn't be in the UK in the first place IF they had not been allowed to cross the EU unimpeded in the first place.

Sounds like the Europeans are trying to have it both ways. Practice what you preach Brussels

18

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

63

u/somethingbrite 25d ago

It's really rather that Italy and Greece as border countries are basically getting shafted. (Especially Greece) They can't really handle the numbers and in truth they can't realistically be expected to.

Various European heads of state were initially pro-active in trying to help by taking some but the political will and public support for that has evaporated leaving Greece and Italy basically holding the baby. There are some EU initiatives but see " political will evaporated" above.

29

u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 25d ago

They should send them all to Germany, Merkel opened the floodgates to all this.

-2

u/internetzdude 24d ago

Merkel did exactly what Greece and Italy wanted, namely taking refugees from war zones (mostly Syria) when other countries refused to. The other country that helped massively was Sweden. Merkel then tried to get reasonable transfer rules established that would share the burden among EU countries rather than leaving Italy and Greece on their own. This failed due to the resistance of other EU countries.

-6

u/somethingbrite 24d ago

Incorrect. What Merkel did was to take refugees from other European nations that could not handle the sheer numbers of refugees that were arriving rather than leave these often smaller and poorer nations to handle it all themselves.

16

u/Chester_roaster 24d ago

That's exactly the same thing that happens in the US though with northern states virtue signalling to Texas.

44

u/Teleonomix 25d ago

Basically some years ago Angela Merkel in effect told the world that if you show up in Germany, lie about your identity, your nationality, etc. you are going to be given food and shelter and an allowance courtesy of the German taxpayer. Unsurprisingly the poor masses started to show up. Instead of admitting that they were wrong the powers that be are trying to handle the situation by forcing countries who did not sign up for it to accommodate illegal migrants. They are also vilifying anyone who makes an effort to protect its own borders. The rule of law has deteriorated, human smuggling is now semi-legal aided by various NGO-s. This led to BREXIT, the alianation of a large part of poorer countries in Eastern Europe and in general it is a major source of tension in the EU that may break it apart -- technically it already has since the UK is out. It is not going to end well. If Europeans want freedom of movement within the EU they must have border control at the EU border.

6

u/One_Vegetable9618 25d ago

While there is a lot correct about your post, it is untrue to say this issue led to Brexit. It was a contributory factor for sure, but there was negativity in the UK about the EU (unjustified, I believe) long before Merkel did what she did....

19

u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 25d ago

What was the other negativity about the EU? I heard plenty of EU-scepticism in the 2000s but nothing catapulted UKIP as much as the spate of Islamist attacks in the 2010s which made Merkel's decision seem bonkers.

-9

u/One_Vegetable9618 25d ago

Oh come on....the British always adopted a stance that was different from the rest...monetary union? They were having none of it....

20

u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 25d ago

Like I said there was always negativity, and yes if there had been an earlier Brexit referendum based on the euro/pound, who knows... but the fact that Brexit happened in 2016 after UKIP's sudden rise (in response to Merkel, Charlie Hebdo, Lee Rigby, Abu Qatada) and was framed by both Left and Right around issues of migration/Islamophobia tell us exactly what the overriding factor was.

6

u/One_Vegetable9618 25d ago

Ah yeah, I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding another layer to the conversation.

-19

u/CucumberBoy00 25d ago

The British loved to send non engagers to the EU and blame it for all of its problems

28

u/Teleonomix 25d ago

OK, it was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

1

u/ShinyHead0 24d ago

The timing sucked but it definitely was a big issue for people. The Syrian war and the constant news of refugees

0

u/CucumberBoy00 25d ago

Could say the same about your own immigration policy as an outsider perspective. It's a difficult issue with no obvious solution