Europe without reason. Why is the EU on a path to self-destruction?
All past experience shows that the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants leads to the decomposition of societies, an increase in crime, the collapse of economies and a radical reduction in living standards
Paweł Lisicki
It seems that the primary duty of a state is to ensure the protection of its territory. It seems that the primary duty of the union of states, which is the European Union, should therefore be to effectively combat the danger posed by an uncontrolled and increasing wave of immigration from African and Middle Eastern countries.
All past experience shows that the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants leads to the decomposition of societies, an increase in crime, the collapse of economies and a radical reduction in living standards. What’s more, this issue could be resolved if European politicians actually wanted it to be so. Meanwhile, the exact opposite is happening. This problem, precisely the fundamental and most important one, is being ignored and overlooked by the EU elite. Instead, the Union is using its institutions to fight what it has very limited, or perhaps no, influence over: tackling climate change. What we have here is an example of departure or, more scientifically, severe schizophrenia.
In the first few months of this year, between 30,000 and 50,000 migrants arrived in Italy. It is increasingly common for more than a thousand to arrive on a single day. This means – it’s easy to count – that by the end of the year there will be more than 100 thousand (or maybe more) new refugees. What does the government do? It declares a state of emergency. Well, it sounds good, except that on closer inspection, nothing significant comes out of this “emergency.” On the contrary, after it was imposed, the number of newcomers increased even more. This is because, in essence, the state of emergency is an illusion.
Well, thanks to the “exceptionality” it will be possible…to relocate migrants more quickly from overcrowded centers to… less overcrowded ones. That is, make their lives more bearable and comfortable. Note, the paranoia continues: the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants one such center for migrants to be established in each of Italy’s 20 regions. Currently, there are nine. Some regions do not agree to their construction – and these, thanks to emergency legislation, will be able to be forced to do so. To put things simply: the government doesn’t know how to stop the disease – the mass influx of migrants – it only knows how to spread it faster. And that’s what it’s doing, calling it a fight. It is also trying, timidly and inconsistently, to change the law in such a way as to send back those migrants who have not obtained refugee status to the countries from whence they came. This, of course, will not change anything: experience shows how difficult it is to first bring about such a decision and then to expel the migrant (not to mention the entire family).
And now let’s compare this with the conduct of the Polish services and Border Guard. On the border with Belarus, from where the Lukashenko regime is trying to smuggle migrants, there is a defensive wall and Polish guards are not allowing migrants to cross the border. They are catching the refugees and sending them back to where they came from. In short: they are doing what they were called to do. Unlike Italy, Poland behaves like a serious state when it comes to defending the border from the flood of migrants.
Italians, it is sad to say, act as if their instinct for self-preservation has completely deserted them. Instead of keeping ships and boats off their shores, the services… are protecting the newcomers. Instead of making their lives as difficult as possible, they are helping. Instead of severely and ruthlessly punishing the organizers of mass human smuggling, they are passively observing everything that’s happening before them. Instead of – yes, let that terrible word be used – using force to defend their own country, they are helplessly lowering their hands.
In effect, they are cooking up a tragic fate for themselves. This is what no state and no economy can withstand. Italian elites are stuck in the trap of false humanitarianism: afraid to show decisiveness, they are worsening and even destroying the chances of their children and grandchildren. This disease of impotence is paralyzing not only Italians, but all of Western Europe. This was evident in 2015, when Brussels, instead of fighting the flood of migration, wanted to force the absurd idea of forced relocation on all members. This is also what is happening now: instead of calling on Italy and other countries to fight the tide of newcomers, Brussels prefers to criticize countries like Poland that are defending their own borders.
Oh sorry, Brussels has other things on its mind after all. What about the flood of hundreds of thousands of migrants, the most important thing is the heroic fight against global warming. This is the real challenge, and this is what serious European politicians, both officials and most MEPs, are busy with. That’s why the European Parliament adopted directives and regulations from the “Fit for 55” package a few days ago. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by at least 55%. In 2050, we will achieve climate neutrality. What an achievement this will be! There is indeed much to be excited about. In a climate-neutral Europe, flooded totally by African and Middle Eastern migrants, the air will be clean and there will be plenty of snow.
This article was published in May 2023 in “Do Rzeczy” weekly.