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EU 2016: ANOTHER STEP TO BEING AN IMPORTANT GLOBAL POWER
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countries and societies to the east of the EU into
Central Asia and to the south of the EU to
Central Africa. The Strategy places the acces-
sion process of the eastern candidates and
Turkey in that framework. The construction of
security in the European neighbourhood is a
goal of the Union, then.
The third priority of the Strategy is the inte-
grated approach to conflicts. It specifically
points to the cases of Syria and Libya, in which
the dimensions to be addressed are local, na-
tional, regional, and global.
The fourth priority is support for cooperative
regional orders in Europe, of course, but also in
the Mediterranean, in the Middle East and Africa,
across the Atlantic, in Asia and in the Artic.
Lastly, the Strategy advocates a Global
Governance for the 21
st
century in which the EU
champions a strong United Nations as the bed-
rock of the order based on the rules of interna-
tional law.
The EU’s foreign relations in 2016:
between tension and collaboration
Migrations and refugees mark national
agendas with Turkey as the central partner
Migratory movements were the key to explain-
ing the state of European public opinions and
many of the election results in 2016.
Undoubtedly, immigration was the most deci-
sive element for understanding the triumph of
the “leave” vote in the British referendum.
Many Britons chose to vote in favour of the
United Kingdom’s departure from the EU based
on what they believed to be a lack of control in
the free movement of people and in the entry of
immigrants into the country. Likewise, the rise
of far-right movements and populism across
Europe owes much to that perception. In all cer-
tainty, the Dutch elections in March 2017, the
French elections in May and the German elec-
tions in September will not escape a debate fo-
cused on that subject matter.
The European Union’s borders have been un-
der intense pressure since 2015, both because of
the arrival of refugees, essentially from Syria,
and because of the economic migrations across
the Mediterranean. That year, 2015, entries into
the Union hit the figure of 1.8 million. In 2016,
however, there was a significant drop, according
to Frontex figures, to 500,000 entries. United
Nations calculations produce the same data: a
reduction in entries of over 70 %. The drop was
largely due to the agreement reached between
the EU and Turkey in March 2016. The best ex-
ample is the number of entries through Greece,
which fell by up to 79 % from one year to the
next. The same can be seen in the entries via the
Balkans, with a fall of over 80 %. Despite the
reduction in the figures, they remain well above
those of the years prior to the refugee crisis.
However, given that the causes that give rise
to these population displacements continue –
instability and war in Syria and the Middle East
and lack of development in Africa –, the closure
of one migratory route leads to the opening of
another. Migratory flows across the central
Mediterranean, especially from Libya to Italy,
grew by 18 % between 2015 and 2016. Deaths
in the Mediterranean also increased by 38 %,
from 3,175 in 2015 to 4,400 in 2016. The na-
tionalities of those entering the EU did not
change. Syrians (88,000) and Afghans (50,000)
remained at the top of the list.
European public opinion is highly polarised
in the face of this situation. Angela Merkel suf-
fered a major drop in popularity largely because
of her favourable positions on taking in mi-
grants. The continuation of the conflict in Syria