The refugee crisis has shown just how much the EU has lost its way

The history of the European Union since its initial seeds were planted with the Coal and Steel Committee in 1951 has been mainly positive and helped promote peace and reconciliation within Europe. 

This changed with the Lisbon Treaty and clear moves towards a European super state.

The financial and Euro crises and the unacceptable treatment of Ireland and Greece by our EU fellow member states was the beginning of a process of disintegration, whereby the better off states ganged up on those in need, instead of showing genuine solidarity.

The increasing militarisation of Europe and its ever closer alignment with NATO, for the purposes of using military power to promote the economic interests of Europe at the expense of many impoverished peoples around the world, led to resource wars under the guise of humanitarian interventions.

The resulting chaos and slaughter in the Middle East and north Africa seemed to have been acceptable as long as there was no blowback in Europe. The blowback came with the resulting refugee crisis. Far too many Europeans see this crisis as being a European refugee crisis, even if all its victims are of Middle East and African origin.

It is obscene that EU leaders, including our Taoiseach are in the process of bribing a Turkish Government, guilty of serious human rights and anti-democratic abuses, to force Turkey to stem the flow of refugees and to take back refugees already in Greece. The Irish taxpayers’ share of these bribes will be over €20 million, money badly needed for our own health services. Now, instead of using EU naval forces to rescue drowning refugees, they are going to be used to reinforce the new Iron (or Razor-Wire) Curtain.

Sometimes the best-laid plans of mice and men go all awry and things fall apart.

If Brexit becomes a reality, should Ireland be far behind?

Edward Horgan

Newtown

Castletroy

Limerick