The hard journey

THE gulf between sentiment and action is as wide as the Mediterranean itself. On May 13th the European Commission issued its plan for dealing with immigration, including the multitude who take to boats on the shores of north Africa in the hope of reaching asylum on European Union soil—or, more likely, of being plucked from the waves by a passing vessel. The report’s authors clearly lament the shameful drowning of thousands of migrants, left to their fate because of cuts in marine patrols that were deemed to be picking up too many people. Nevertheless, the commission’s ideas on what to do fall lamentably short.

A nut to crush a sledgehammer

War in the Middle East, oppression in Africa and the ubiquitous human desire for a better life: all have played their part in causing a surge of migration into the EU. The fighting in Syria alone has crammed 4m fugitives into refugee camps in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. The tide is hardly about to dry up.

Not all of these people can find a new life in Europe. The UN convention is clear that refugees automatically qualify once they reach the EU, because they need protection. By contrast, economic migrants do not. A country picks its economic migrants and deports those it does not want.

That is the theory. The reality is a tide of human misery. Traffickers charge thousands of dollars, and...

from The Economist: Leaders http://ift.tt/1IAigIw