Tusk re-elected, but will anyone lead on migration?
Will eastern Europeans get funds clipped for lack of solidarity in migration? The spring EU summit appears more concerned with keeping new arrivals out than managing current overload or heavy-handed Hungarian policies.
Donald Tusk has been re-elected as president of the European Council, but activists are asking whether there’s leadership to be found anywhere on humanitarian issues.
In a letter to EU leaders signed by more than 160 NGO’s, 28 heads of state and government are reminded that many of their countries are “full of people who were forced to flee their homes due to war and persecution,” yet now, the letter states, “European nations are unwilling to respond in line with their obligations under international and European law, defaulting to responses that keep people far away and out of sight.”
While Poland initially took the seat of summit troublemaker over the Tusk bid, it is Hungary that has once again shocked many and caused outrage with its attitude toward refugees and migrants. Though the “Western Balkans” – a euphemism for “the migration crisis” – is formally an agenda item, only Prime Minister Viktor Orban walked in saying migration would absolutely be his top priority, declaring defiantly that Hungary is “under attack” from critics.
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