Soros: ‘Failing to help refugees, Europe fails itself’

According to the businessman, those who are fleeing their homes in hope of safety have to “risk their lives twice: once in fleeing their countries, and again in entering ours.”

Citing history, he says that “the victims of many previous conflicts have had better luck. After the 1956 Soviet invasion, 200,000 Hungarians fled to Austria and Yugoslavia; within months almost all had been resettled in countries as far flung as the U.S., Australia, Brazil and Tunisia.”

According to Soros “in the present refugee crisis the EU has failed to act collectively, leading countries to take matters into their own hands.” He adds that “Hungary is building a fence along its border with Serbia. Frontline states are shirking their obligations under the European asylum system, for instance by failing to provide adequate reception and asylum processing capacity, thus encouraging them to move elsewhere in the EU. France and Austria have temporarily reinstated passport controls at borders.”

Soros ends his opinion piece by saying: “The EU’s migration system must be remade to reflect a more collective and generous spirit — and one that is more faithful to European values.”