Monday 16th November 2015

Weekend updates of news from Europe, including updates on the migrant crisis, economic developments in Europe, G20 outcomes and the barbaric attack on Paris on Friday

G20 summit vows to step up fight against ISIS: the outcome of the G20 summit on Sunday among others things led to the nations vowing to step up the fight against Islamic State. In the wake of Friday’s traumatic attack on the French capital, the west has also been called to rethink its relationship with Russia. US President Barack Obama stated in Turkey on Sunday that the “sky was darkened” above the gathering, as the normal economics-centred summit was wiped away in the aftermath of the slaughter in Paris on Friday that left 130 dead and many more injured, and bringing the death toll due to ISIS activities in G20 countries to over 500. It is assumed promises over improving cooperation over counter-terrorism will be reiterated over the course of the 2 day summit. However, things may change in the west’s relations with Russia, as despite the difficulties of the Russian entry into the Syrian conflict, effective actions against Islamic State is necessary, and a priority which will override previous Russia-West antagonisms.

Paris Terrorist Attack: Paris was hit on Friday by a series of brutal and inhuman attacks on its citizens in quick succession, leading to the deaths of around 130 and a further 350 being injured. President François Hollande subsequently put France in a State of Emergency on Friday, allowing him to close the French borders and enforce curfews and the closure of public venues while the French government looks to secure the country. The FAZ reported on Sunday that Hollande has moved to try to extend the State of Emergency to 3 months, however for this he requires the backing of the French National Assembly and the Senate. Furthermore, around 1,500 French soldiers have been deployed to the streets to further restore peace and order to the mortified nation. Targets of this attack include restaurants and bars, the Bataclan concert hall, and the Stade de France, where the French national team were playing Germany in a friendly, and explosions occurred afterwards in suicide bombing attempts. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, which involved people from Belgium, France, Germany and the middle east, it is suspected. 3 arrests were made in Brussels on Saturday, whilst a car was found in driving through Bavaria in Germany carrying weapons and being driven by a man of Arabic origin. President Hollande has vowed to wage a merciless war against the perpetrators of this attack, whilst Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister, has vowed to destroy the enemies of France.

Austria to erect fence on Slovenian border: Austria announced on Friday that it would be building a fence along its border with Slovenia to better manage the migrant flow into the country. The border to be completed in the coming weeks will be the first to be built between two adherents of the Schengen Convention. However Austria Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner insisted the fence conformed with the Schengen Agreement, saying that it was designed to better channel the human flow. Last month Hungary built a series of fences on its border with Croatia and Serbia, and earlier last week Sweden announced it would be reinstating temporary border controls, and Slovenia began to unroll its razor-wire fence on the Croatian border. The Austrian announcement comes a day after the European Council President Donald Tusk said that the migrant crisis was straining the bonds of the Schengen Convention to breaking point.

Western Balkans route may have acted as entry point for Paris terrorists: A newspaper in Belgrade, Serbia, has highlighted the possibility of the Paris terrorist attackers using the migrant flows through the western Balkans as a route to gain access to France. On Sunday, “Blic” reported that a Syrian passport belonging to a 25 year old man by the name of Ahmed Almuhamed was found near one of the Paris attackers on Friday; this same man travelled from Macedonia to Serbia on 7th October this year. Whilst he travelled through Serbia he was apparently unarmed. From Serbia he went on to Croatia, and later he went on to Austria. Athens has also reported that it’s possible that one of the terrorists may have travelled through Greece from Turkey. The passport was then found on the person of someone who had arrived on 3rd October on the Greek island of Leros. This could mean that two of the worst calamities conceived of by European security agencies – the use of the Schengen area to the advantage of terrorists, and the merciless killing of innocents in the streets of European cities – may have at once been realised.

Sweden reinstates border controls: Sweden reinstated border controls on Thrusday, making it the last in a long line of Schengen Convention adherents to toughen its border security in response to the ongoing Europe migration and refugee crisis. Sweden’s Interior Minister, Anders Ygeman, said on Wednesday that “A record number of refugees are arriving in Sweden. The migration office is under strong pressure… and the police believe there is a threat against public order”. In September, around 80,000 migrants had arrived in Sweden, the equivalent of the whole of 2014. As a proportion of its population, Sweden has taken the most refugees in all of Europe, and it expects a total of 190,000 people to arrive by the end of 2015. In perspective that would be 1.5 million people arriving in Germany. “Welcoming refugees must be done with order and care,” said Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. As Sweden struggles, the Prime Minister appealed last week to the EU for help to relocate some of those it has taken in.

Sources: FAZ, FT, France 24, AFP, DPA, PA, AP, BBC, Reuters