Timmermans fears right-wing extremism alongside refugee crisis

Unless the migrant crisis in Europe is addressed properly, there could be a surge of right-wing nationalist movements across the continent, said Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the European Commission. Speaking on BBC Radio, the former Dutch foreign affairs minister added that people who do not have a rightful claim to asylum should be swiftly deported.

He also lashed out at some European politicians for harsh treatment and abuse of migrants seeking refugee status in European nations.

“We should know more about Central European history,” he noted. “Knowing that they were isolated for generations, that they were under oppression by Moscow for so long, that they have no experience with diversity in their society, and it creates fear in the society.”

After a meeting on Wednesday, the EU agreed upon measures that would improve border controls and establish a proper registry of migrants at entry points in both Italy and Greece.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also warned that how the crisis is handled will shape Europe in the long term. Reuters UK reports that the Chancellor told German MP’s that the measures agreed upon by the EU on Wednesday were only the first step and that ‘selective relocation’ was not enough.