Europe’s reaction to refugee crisis: 2015 and 2022
Elena Herrezuelo
Raquel Rojas
Sara Matamoros

1.INSTITUTIONS
In 2015, the escalation of the Syrian civil war lead to millions of Syrians arriving to the
southern European countries
5,6 million refugees
●Securitization
●Distrust
●Reticence
18 March 2016
Declaration EU-Turkey
Turkey assumed refugees that arrived in Greece in exchange of 6.000 million euros on compensations
Priority privileges in resettlement for those who have not attempted to enter the EU irregularly

1.INSTITUTIONS
GENEVA CONVENTIONS
●Articles 3, 5, 8 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
●Article 4 of its Protocol Nº4, which establishes the prohibition of collective expulsions of
foreigners

1.INSTITUTIONS
8.255.288 refugees in Europe
Implication of volunteers made it easier for NGO´s to perform their work in those territories
Directive 2001/55/EC
The beneficiaries of this instrument enjoy the same rights in every Member State, and it includes:
●the recognition of the residence permit
●the work permit for those who are of legal age
●access to medical and social assistance
●in the case of unaccompanied minors, includes access to legal guardianship and education.
Political issue rather than a legal or technical one

2. MASS MEDIA → Public Opinion
Agenda Setting theory (McCombs and Shaw, 1972)
The media chooses which issues to address and to what extent based on their frames of
interpretation.
Media agenda → formation of public agenda.
Framing theory
(Kahneman and Tversky)
The media creates frameworks → presenting them as more important or not → positive or negative
evaluations.
Goffman, 2006
Mental filters that the public can use to process information
1
2
3

2. MASS MEDIA → 2015 refugee crisis
This significant humanitarian crisis did not prominently enter the daily media agenda until several
scandalous events.

2. MASS MEDIA → 2015 refugee crisis
2.0
The 2015 refugee crisis entered the political agenda only in the face of certain scandals, and, as
we can see, the coverage was generally under a negative bias.
SOLIDARITY/EMPATHY FRAMEWORK
COMBATIVE/MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Peak 1 (September 2015, Aylan Kurdi)
Peak 2 (November 2015, border reinforcement).
Peak 3 (January 2016, xenophobic attacks, asset confiscation).
Peak 4 (March 2016, expulsion of refugees, confrontation between the EU and Turkey).

2. MASS MEDIA → 2015 refugee crisis
 Illegal IMMIGRATION
That needed to be controlled and stopped.
Ex.
-Aylan Kurdi,
-shipwrecks in Lampedusa,
-train station in Budapest
Human tragedy → REFUGEES
Security threat → ECONOMIC MIGRANT

2. MASS MEDIA → Ukraine
1 - Outbreak of the war (February 24, 2022)
2 - Bombings of the city of Mariupol (April 2022)
3 - New: a total of 2,238 Ukrainians, including 140 civilians, were released from captivity

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov → "They are not the refugees we are accustomed to. These
people are Europeans."
BBC Journalist → "They are Europeans with blue eyes and blonde hair."
Al Jazeera TV Channel → "They are prosperous middle-class individuals."
CBS Correspondent, Charlie D’Agata → "This is not Iraq or Afghanistan. This is a relatively
civilized and relatively European city."
2. MASS MEDIA → Certain public statements

Response in favor of the reception:
Response against the reception
●Treaty EU + Turkey
●Demonstrations in Greece and Barcelona
●Geldermalsen, Netherlands
●Slovakia: Robert Kalinak
●Warsaw
●Czech Republic: STEM poll
3 CIVIL SOCIETY
2 actors appear: a division is created
Polarization and radicalism of migration policies
CRISIS OF 2015

3. CIVIL SOCIETY
WAR IN UKRAINE (2021-)
1 example in favor of Russia
Open platforms for active civile participation
Most implicated society: Polish

●Division Vs. Consensus
●Moral Vs. political position
3. CIVIL SOCIETY
MAIN DIFFERENCES
2017
2023
Catham House surveys
Austria (65%)
Hungary (64%)
Poland (71%)