MIGRATION CRISIS IN EUROPE: NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION

This article analyzes the 2015 migration crisis as a new and profound challenge for the European Union. It examines the causes of the crisis, particularly the massive influx of refugees and migrants from war-torn Syria and other conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa. The study details the immediate humanitarian and logistical challenges faced by the frontline EU states, such as Greece and Italy. The research then provides an in-depth analysis of the deep political crisis that the migration issue triggered within the EU. It explores the breakdown of the Dublin Regulation, the EU's common asylum system, and the deep divisions that emerged between member states over the issue of burden-sharing and the relocation of refugees. The paper argues that the crisis exposed fundamental weaknesses in the EU's institutional framework and a lack of political solidarity among its members. The analysis concludes that the migration crisis represented an existential challenge to the core values and the internal cohesion of the European project.

The year 2015 witnessed the largest influx of refugees and migrants to Europe since the Second World War, triggering a deep and multifaceted crisis for the European Union. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this new challenge. The study begins by outlining the scale and the primary drivers of the crisis, with a central focus on the devastating civil war in Syria, which was the main source of the refugee flow. The core of the article is an examination of the profound political crisis that the influx precipitated within the EU. It provides a detailed account of the collapse of the EU's common asylum policy, as frontline states were overwhelmed and other member states re-imposed internal border controls, threatening the very existence of the Schengen Area of free movement. The paper analyzes the deep and bitter political divisions that emerged, particularly between Germany, which initially adopted a welcoming policy, and the countries of Eastern Europe, which strongly resisted the proposed system of mandatory refugee quotas. The findings reveal a European Union that was deeply divided and seemingly incapable of forging a common and humane response. The paper also explores the social and political consequences within member states, particularly the rise of far-right, anti-immigrant political parties that capitalized on the public anxiety generated by the crisis. The paper concludes that the 2015 migration crisis was a watershed moment for Europe, a stress test that revealed deep cracks in the foundations of the European Union's solidarity and values.