The European Migration Crisis is resulting from political and economical instability in Syria and other countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Before diving into the economic and development aspects of the migration crisis and how European countries are being impacted, I first wanted to address economic and development aspects of the conflict going on in Syria. Given that there would not a migration crisis without the conflict that is going on in the Middle East I thought that it would be important to address that first. I will be looking at International Institutions and how they are addressing the issues that are impacting the world economy.
Migrants are fleeing their home countries as a result of conflict. The conflict in Syria is taking the lives and displacing thousands of people. The conflict is impacting individual’s access to education, energy, transportation, housing, and many other assets. The World Bank was providing support to Syria before the conflict, but has since stopped all activities in Syria. While the World Bank is no longer assisting Syria with matters of development, the international organization is providing support to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. The World Bank is financially assisting countries taking in Refugees, by contributing funds towards health, education and infrastructure.
The Syrian conflict is affecting the economy and development in and outside of the country and the region of the Middle East. European countries are accepting thousands of migrants that have left their homes in Syria and other places in the Middle East too. The high levels of migration are impacting the economies in many of the European countries, and it if the high levels of migration continue the IMF and World Bank predict that the global economy much into the future.
Some countries are hurting more than others during the migration crisis. Greece for example just went through a major financial crisis and is now opening its wings to migrants fleeing Syria. International agencies have been present in European countries, including Greece, to help provide for the migrants. International organizations such as the U.N. Refugee Agency and Doctors Without Borders have increased their presence in European countries, which has helped relieve some of the economical burden.
In addition to the help of international agencies, the suspension of the Dublin Regulation protected the economies of several countries. Allowing migrants to seek refuge in a country other than their point of entry has helped to protect the future economies of the countries such as Greece, Italy and Hungary. If refugees had to seek refuge in the country of entrance into the E.U., these three countries economies would be very overwhelmed with the mere amount of people that they country would have to support.
While right now it may appear that migrants are a financial burden on the European countries, but this could change in the future. Once the majority of migrants obtain asylum and start earning money they could contribute to the economy of each European country. Jim Yong Kim, group president at the World Bank Said “If countries with aging populations can create a path for refugees and migrants to participate in the economy, everyone benefits, Most of the evidence suggests that migrants will work hard and contribute more in taxes than they consume in social services.”
The European Migration Crisis 