Lord Peter Hain at ESADE: "The refugee problem can only be solved with solutions involving all of Europe"

“The Syrian refugee crisis is apocalyptic, but the second big group of refugees today is from Afghanistan. This problem, which affects all of Europe, can only be solved with solutions involving all of Europe,” commented Lord Peter Hain in a talk at ESADE organised as part of the Big Challenges social debate series.

The former UK Minister and Labour Party official raised the question of why Greece and Italy were being “forced” to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees, simply because of their geographical location, while other European countries refused to do the same. The Schengen Area, he argued, cannot survive in its present form under these circumstances.

Lord Hain noted that modern Europe was born in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, a period during which millions of Europeans became refugees. At a time when the population is aging and the birth rate is plummeting in countries such as Germany, acceptance of migrants could be a good option, he argued.

“We mustn’t think that the Syrian refugee crisis is an exception. It may be just the beginning: the population is growing, the climate is changing, and food and water are scarce. These factors could trigger mass migration from the Southern Hemisphere to the north and to Europe,” commented Lord Hain.

Brexit

On the same day as Lord Hain’s talk at ESADE, a summit on the topic of the UK’s possible departure from the European Union was being held in Brussels. Even a vote in favour of a “Brexit” in the upcoming referendum – to be held “probably on 23rd June, during the UEFA Euro football tournament” – would not prevent the entry of refugees, Lord Hain explained. “Britain is not a part of the Schengen Area, which makes it different from Germany or Austria. If we leave the EU, it will be more difficult for us to manage the flow of migrants and refugees, because we won’t be subject to the Dublin Convention, under which asylum applications must be handled by the first state the refugee reaches.”

In economic terms, a Brexit “might not be so affordable in the long term, since we would have to negotiate our entry into the European Economic Area”, Lord Hain explained. “Moreover, most of the EU regulations identified by critics as the most cumbersome for business – such as the directive on the organisation of working time – would still exist if Britain left the EU but remained in the European Economic Area.” He added: “If we leave the political sphere of the EU, we won’t be able to say anything about the content of regulations.”

Growth rather than austerity

“We need to replace neoliberal austerity with Keynesian growth,” explained Lord Hain. “Europe today should prioritise rapid, fair, green growth over additional budget cuts.” He added: “Only a growing economy can provide the necessary resources to address our current problems. In Britain, more than in Europe or anywhere else in the world, we are victims of a political effort to shrink the state.” He concluded: “It’s ironic that Germany is imposing on Greece the sort of austerity that Germany itself suffered under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, with all the dire economic consequences and policies that came with it.”

Lord Hain was accompanied during his talk by José M. de Areilza, Professor at ESADE Law School and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at ESADE.