Emergency EU Summit Meeting Held in Brussels

Leaders of multiple European Union member nations convened an emergency summit on Wednesday, September 23 in Brussels to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. The leaders crafted several policy initiatives at the meeting, including commitments to provide financial aid to countries bordering Syria that are currently housing refugees, increase spending on European border security, and enact a quota system that will distribute migrants more evenly across the continent. Refugee migration, specifically that of the quota system, has been a divisive topic among European nations. While Germany and France support the equal allocation of refugees throughout the EU, the central European nations of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic stand in opposition to the plan. These nations have cited their inability to deal with large influxes of new populations, specifically those of different ethnic backgrounds. France and Germany, unlike their eastern counterparts, are more multi-ethnic demographically and have experience managing inflows of multi-ethnic immigrants. The conflict remains unresolved, and Slovakia and Hungary have directed legal threats against the European Commission concerning the quota system ruling, though Western European nations still plan to enforce it.

Despite these setbacks, most European Union leaders have agreed on the importance of bolstering border defenses to more effectively manage the flood of refugees. Altogether, the European Union has allocated €1.7 billion to manage the crisis. About €1.1 billion will be sent to the UN Refugee Agency and the World Food Program, while the rest will be used to increase border security throughout the continent and aid Balkan states bordering Syria in managing growing numbers of refugees.