Migrant crisis: How Europe went from Merkel's "We can do it" ten years ago to pulling up the drawbridge

Migrant crisis: How Europe went from Merkel's "We can do it" ten years ago to pulling up the drawbridge


In Budapest, this week I met the country's minister for the EU, János Bóka, who said Hungary's approach has been vindicated by the restrictive measures now being put forward in the UK - where the government plan to make it harder for refugees to bring family members to the UK - as well as countries like Ireland, Denmark and Sweden. For the final leg of my journey I went to the western Swedish city of Karlstad, a picture postcard place on the banks of the River Klarälven, the longest waterway in Scandinavia. About 30 minutes drive from the Mytilene airport, in the middle of some olive groves, are the graves of asylum seekers who have died trying to reach here, or in the refugee camps set up after 2015.


Published at: 2025-09-03 21:00:06

Still want to read the full version? Full article