The Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland holds an open seminar this Friday noon on Europe's refugee crisis. The seminar will take place in English and is open to all. Europe's refugee crisis has escalated out of control, following the arrival of an estimated 1.5 million asylum seekers to the European Union in 2015.
Following the New Year crime wave in Cologne and other European cities, public attitudes towards immigration are hardening, populists are riding high in the polls, and divisions between governments endanger the future of the Schengen area of passport-free travel. The painful truth is that there is little agreement between EU countries on how to address the challenges posed by mass numbers of refugees crossing the common border.
In this open seminar, Hugo Brady, Adviser to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, will argue that although some criticism is justified, Europe is performing honourably throughout an unprecedented crisis. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved at sea. European countries processed over a million new asylum claims in 2015 and Europe has become the continent of first asylum while the rest of the world outside the region is contributing little in terms of resettlement of refugees. Brady looks ahead to how this saga is likely to develop in 2016 and how Europe plans to respond. Arndís Anna K. Gunnarsdóttir, Legal Expert / Asylum Seekers at the Icelandic Red Cross, will act as moderator.