With German Chancellor Angela Merkel doubling down yet again on her Open Borders Policy and lashing out at European countries like Hungary for blocking the steady flow of migrants into European heartland, a new wave of mass migration is hitting the continent. On Tuesday, Italy rescued nearly 5,000 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea, taking the number of rescued migrants at the high seas by Italian coastguard to over 10,000 within the span of just two days.
Chancellor Merkel’s open offer of a better life for anyone who can cross over by any means into Europe has created a stampede of continental proportions as every week tens of thousands from North Africa and Middle East set off to Europe taking the land route or the high seas. Since the beginning of this year more than 3,000 people have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
Instead of trying to close the ‘Pandora’s Box’ she opened last fall by scrapping the European border regulations (Dublin Protocol), German Chancellor is busy bashing any European state that dares to secure its national borders and get a grip on uncontrolled migrants criss-crossing through the country. German broadcaster DW reports:
Around 4,555 migrants were saved by the Italian coastguard on Tuesday, in a dramatic day that saw more than 30 rescue operations off the Libyan coast. (…)On Monday, about 6,000 migrants packed in rickety boats were rescued off the coast of Libya. Nine people died, including a pregnant woman.The Italian and Irish navies, private merchant ships, tug boats, the European Union border agency Frontex and several nongovernmental organizations are involved in the rescue operations.Migrant smugglers are taking advantage of the calmer autumn period before winter begins to push more migrant boats out to sea to make the dangerous crossing to Italy.
Merkel bashed Hungary, Serbia, and other Balkan states for closing the popular migrant route which has seen over 700,000 migrants enter Europe in 2016. “If you ask me if the closure of the Balkan route has solved the problem, I will say ‘No’,” said Merkel on Wednesday.
In recent months, European countries like Hungary and Slovakia have provoked the ire of Merkel government and EU bureaucrats for the “crime” of building and extending border fences to stop the influx of migrants.
Merkel’s virtue-signalling comes at a price, but not for her. Since the beginning of 2016 more than 3,000 people have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Merkel wants to play “Miss Congeniality” at the E.U. stage and others to pick up the tab.
Video: Italian coastguard says 6.000 people rescued on a single day
[Cover image courtesy RT, YouTube]
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