"If We Don't Find A Solution Today, It's The End Of The European Union" - Refugee Crisis Hits Tipping Point

Zero Hedge

After escalating for months, Europe's refugee crisis hit its most serious tipping point yet, when when earlier today European Union leaders held a mini-summit on Sunday debating whether to send hundreds of guards to its borders with the western Balkans, as well as deploying more ships off Greece, as the bloc seeks to balance Germany's welcome for refugees with tougher security measures.

So far, over 680,000 migrants and refugees have crossed to Europe by sea so far this year, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, according to the International Organization for Migration. Their goal has been Germany, which has promised sanctuary, however as a result of a populist backlash and concerns over the economy, Merkel's popularity has taken a major hit, sliding to the lowest level in four years.

Taking place just two weeks after a full EU summit, the meeting was sought by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to Reuters, "many see it as an attempt by Juncker and Merkel to raise pressure on central and southeast European states to coordinate among themselves in managing the migration flow in a more humane way and end a series of unilateral actions."

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AIG's explanation: "To use global issues as excuses to extend its power"

• environmental issues: increase control over member countries; advance idea of global governance
• terrorism: use excuse for greater control over police and judicial issues; increase extent of surveillance
• global financial crisis: kill two birds (free market; Anglo-Saxon economies) with one stone (Europe-wide regulator; attempts at global financial governance)
• EMU: create a crisis to force introduction of “European economic government”

And there it is: in four simple bullet points laid out in a 7 year old presentation, a prediction which has come true time and again: from the endless Greek bailouts, to the austerity paradox, to European youth unemployment stubbornly flat at 50% for years in many "southern" European nations, to Europe's QE creating the deflationary impulse it is said to be fighting against, and now - to the "refugee crisis", it is all playing out as if according to some unseen script.

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