Immigrants arriving by boat on the island of Lesvos on Monday morning, Photo: kathimerini.gr
Generally, I think that Europe will have to review the whole system in the coming months. And since freedom of movement is a key pillar of the EU, I sincerely hope that no restrictions will be imposed.
I am saying this because at an EU summit in June 2014 a group of countries such as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands expressed a clear will to impose restrictions on the movement of member states nationals. I hope there will be no such changes, because this will be a negative development for both Greece and Bulgaria. And for the European idea as a whole.
The USA is the subject of much criticism, for not taking action against the Islamic state on the one hand and for not receiving refugees from Syria on its territory on the other. Are there grounds for these criticisms?
The US has the advantage of being separated from the places where these problems are occurring by two oceans. It is interested in the events but on the other hand, it has its own problems with immigration from Mexico and Latin America in general.
The problem here is European and we must not forget Europe's responsibility for some of the countries. For example, the problem in Libya began as a result of a European initiative. France, Italy and Britain led the operation to remove Gaddafi from power. All this led to the presence of a non-state, with 2-3 governments, confronting groups and so on. In the case of Libya, the USA was initially opposed. Of course, it took part in the operation at some point.
I mean that Europe must acknowledge its responsibility and deal with its own problems. I remember the typical example of Bosnia. The US argued that "the Bosnian crisis lasted for years and we had to come to end it with the Dayton agreement, because you did nothing."
The fact is that the European Union has problems. The Greek crisis has brought to the fore the main one which is the economic problem, followed by the political problem, namely what we want from Europe, the banking issue as to whether there will be a banking union, how it will operate, etc. Europe has made very serious steps forward but has not yet solved the fundamental issues.
Henry Kissinger’s words continue to apply. In 1994, when the last phase of the war in Bosnia began he said, "The problem with Europe is that at 11:00 pm, when you hear the first shot, you do not know who to call but you know in the US."
Now you know who to call in Europe. The issue is that you have to call more than one person.
Regarding the Islamic state, it is largely the US’ responsibility as it is bombarding the positions of the jihadists. Of course, the question is whether this is enough and how the Islamic state in general has become so powerful.