There is now a standard, well-honed, Nimby response to the question: Well, what would you do about the migrants? Even from those most determined to prevent “floods” of migrants settling in their country, a simple “transport them back home” or “they are not our problem” will no longer suffice. It appears callous and flies in the face of well-established moral and legal responsibility in international law to provide shelter for those genuinely seeking asylum from persecution or war. As opposed to those allegedly undeserving economic migrants. And, not to mention – it is not mentioned – the moral case for burden-sharing with our European partners.
In particular, British government officials and ministers now speak of the need instead to tackle the causes of migration at source, the poverty and war whether in Syria or Africa, and they volunteer cash to the French to strengthen their defences. The appearance of activity and engagement, however, belies an unwillingness to contemplate any kind of opening of doors to asylum seekers. "On the great humanitarian issue of the day," the Financial Times bemoans editorially, "the British prime minister's perspective does not extend beyond security reinforcement at Calais."
The contrast with German attitudes is striking. The country which has been caricatured during the Greek crisis as most unwilling to share collective EU burdens is expecting to receive some 800,000 asylum applications this year, four times the numbers last year, and in excess of a third of all likely EU migrants. With Sweden it has put fellow member states to shame in terms of accommodating refugees, a fact most Germans view as a matter of pride. Many volunteers collect food and clothing, offer language classes, or even accommodation in their own homes. Municipalities right across the country accept allocations, albeit not without difficulty, under a formula based on population and per-capita tax revenues known as the "Königsteiner Schlüssel".
It has not been easy. Political tensions have risen. Conservative politicians warn of the need to close borders and preserve jobs for Germans. And in the first half of this year there were a recorded 200 attacks on asylum seekers, including 150 arson or other attacks that have destroyed refugee shelters or made them uninhabitable.
Chancellor Angela Merkel complained last week, with justice, that the migrant challenge to the EU puts Greece’s crisis into the shade. Rightly she insists that a EU-wide approach is the only way forward – the European Commission’s attempt to burden-share so far has involved the voluntary distribution of only 40,000 this year, of whom 600 will come to Ireland. It will come up with another programme later in the year, but we are still only scratching the surface. Other member states will have to dig much deeper.