The breach of the border itself is not the issue as an incident that must and I’m sure will be resolved, but its clear the incident is being “played out” in right-wing media as an opportunity to supercharge the reactionary anti-immigrant sentiment that may end up having lasting/detrimental ramification on Europe internally if allowed to be left unchecked. The other point I would make – again having repeated it in many of my posts – Europe needs to get serious about foreign policy because this incident although may not be related in this context, but it shows the vulnerability of borders when conflicts get out of control or when economics or matters of human rights are ignored or patched up. This may sound lame or out of context in this moment, but just consider this; building walls or having advanced early warning systems/security protections have their limitations, so you might as well use your advanced early warning systems to adjust your foreign policy to help resolve conflicts, develop true permanent allies rather than fake/unreliable transactional allies that are here today/gone tomorrow. As for PM Meloni (aka the Immigration PM), when I heard she was connecting with the Spanish government I automatically assumed it was to offer assistance in dealing with the situation; but it seems it was to warn Spain of her call of its suspension from Schengen. I guess the real reason is less about the incident and more about the contrast in Spain’s PM foreign and immigration policy with hers which is becoming more of a threat to her worldview, authority and narrative; she is after all an ideological figure rather than a political leader as I mentioned before. The real question is – as an ideologue – whether her reactionary instincts get out of line/step with the EU in “reacting” to this incident that touched a sensitive nerve, as expected. Well, thats an opinion anyway and lets see how things play out.
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