Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/782193
5 EU's election year thinking. Yet, the declaration signed by EU leaders whets the appetite of do- mestic voters, especially in coun- tries where elections will be held imminently. EU leaders could have easily looked into other options, such as reopening the discussion on relo- cation and establishing legal routes to Europe. However, they chose to appease domestic concerns on migration by promising to stop the flow of asylum seekers as they attempt to stem the rise of populist and far- right parties who are exploiting the fears – legitimate and not – created by migration, especially among the working and middle classes. Electoral appointments Four important elections are be- ing held in 2017, in the Nether- lands, Italy, France and Germany and all sitting heads of state (with the exception of German Chan- cellor Angela Merkel) risk losing power. Trump's victory in the US and Brexit have emboldened Islamo- phobic, anti-immigrant and pop- ulist parties such as Marine Le Pen's National Front in France, Geert Wilder's Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, the Alterna- tive for Germany (AfD) and the Northern League and Beppe Gril- lo's Five Star Movement in Italy. Elections are also being held in Bulgaria and the Czech Repub- lic this year, while another seven countries, including Malta, will go to the polls in 2018. Voters across the continent are concerned by migration, and their fears go beyond its effect on jobs and the economy. Voters fear that migration are not only threatening their jobs and wellbeing but that their iden- tity too. People fear that migra- tion may change society as they know it. So far, the response of EU lead- ers has been disjointed and in or- der to keep the populists and far- right parties away from the seats of power, parties in government and mainstream parties want to keep asylum seekers away from the gates of Europe. Merkel's decision to welcome more than one million asylum seekers in 2015 alone came back to haunt her party electorally, with the far-right AfD making significant inroads in last year's regional elections. This has led to Merkel taking a more hawkish stand and other mainstream European leaders have followed suit. There is no easy solution to deal- ing with migration, especially as the situation in the Middle East and developing countries in Af- rica and Asia. However, as the UNHCR, IOM and many others have warned, disregarding human rights and striking deals with un- stable and authoritarian regimes should not be used to win elec- tions. The rise of anti-European na- tionalism will not be washed away by EU declarations of intent, as long as inequalities exist asylum seekers will find new ways of en- tering Europe. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2017 News PHOTO DOI - CLODAGH FARRUGIA O'NEILL