Countries pass buck on Ukrainian refugees

Civil affairs ministers of 27 member states of the European Union held a meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the Ukrainian refugee issue that has grown increasingly acute as the conflict drags on.

Due to their limited capacity to handle the influx of large numbers of refugees from Ukraine, which is counted in millions, both the German and Polish governments have appealed to the European Commission to set a quota for all EU members.

But that appeal was turned down. Although the EU is united in opposing the conflict in Ukraine, they are divided on how the issue of the Ukrainian refugees should be settled, as accepting these refugees will pose a harsh test to the EU member states' financial and social security systems.

The United States, which continues to pour oil on the flames of the conflict, has only agreed, in principle at least, to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, while the Ukraine crisis has produced 3.8 million refugees and the number could hit 5 million soon.

In contrast, during the peak of the Middle East refugee crisis in 2015, which was compared to the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, the European countries, excluding Turkey which accepted 4 million refugees, accepted 1.2 million refugees, among whom half settled in Germany.

If Germany accepted 1 million Ukrainian refugees, it would have to spend €400 million ($447 million) a month on them, which does not include the expenses on their housing and education.

With 2.8 million Ukrainian refugees having already arrived in Poland, the burden on the country is conceivable. And since Ukraine has banned all males aged 16 to 60 from leaving the country, the EU countries' expenditure on the refugees cannot easily be offset by their labor revenue.

That's why Germany and Poland's call for the other EU member states has been met with cold shoulders, particularly when more than 60 percent of the EU member states' debt is above 60 percent of their respective gross domestic product. In fact, the flow of refugees has become a chronic disease plaguing Europe. To solve this problem, the EU should stop being a catspaw of the US and do more to promote peace talks.