Estonian ambassador in Brussels: EU not about to fall apart
Seen from Tallinn, the migration crisis is mainly a crisis in Brussels. But the volatility of the flow of refugees combined with the diversity of the positions of the EU member states makes the crisis particularly hard to solve, finds Estonia’s permanent representative in Brussels, Matti Maasikas.
“The European Union is a rather sturdy phenomenon. It isn’t about to fall apart yet. But one of the most important things that holds the European Union together, namely the feeling of solidarity between the member states, has been seriously weakened in the migration crisis. The member states don’t feel that everybody is sincere and doing enough,” said Maasikas to ETV’s Aktuaalne Kaamera.
The ambassador said he was optimistic, as so far sustainable solutions had always been found and the EU was important enough to its member states that they would keep trying.
Still, Maasikas stressed that the migration crisis was so far the most difficult, as it was a multi-faceted problem and it had a very strong human dimension.
“What makes this crisis very complicated is the fact that the member states have very different worries and positions. For example, being here in Tallinn, the crisis mainly seems to be a crisis in Brussels. There are no masses of refugees at our border, but how the crisis has progressed so far shows that the situation can change very quickly, and this volatility makes this crisis exceptionally difficult,” Maasikas said.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn