The UN refugee agency today identified loss of hope and appalling living conditions as major factors behind the recent spike in the number of Syrian refugees from the region seeking asylum in Europe.
Around four million Syrian refugees are currently living in neighbouring countries, but recent months have seen a marked increase in the number of those seeking refuge further afield, notably in Europe.
Amin Awad, Director UNHCR Bureau for Middle East and North Africa, said this was primarily because of a loss of hope of being able to return home and deteriorating living conditions in the countries where Syrian refugees are currently living.
"Refugees face horrible living conditions, and restrictions in the legal regimes for refugees in the countries where they live … When people don't have proper shelter and are living on 45 cents a day of course they want to move," he told a press briefing in Geneva, adding: "Syrians are checking out from the neighbouring countries."
In total, there have now been almost 429,000 asylum applications by Syrians in Europe since 2011, but due to the lack of reception facilities in Europe many of the most recent arrivals have yet to apply.
"Refugees are having to adopt negative survival strategies – like child labour, dropping out of school, begging and survival sex. They need much more support," Awad, who is also the Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Syria Region, said.
"These are societies that put a high value on education and now they are seeing their children out of school."
He stressed the situation would only end when a solution was found for Syria and the region stabilised.
"Syria is burning; towns are destroyed and that's why people are on the move, that's why we have an avalanche, a tsunami of people on the move towards Europe… As long as there's no resolution in Syria and no improved conditions in neighbouring countries, people will move," he told the briefing at the UN's Geneva headquarters.
Based on ongoing monitoring and assessments, surveys, focus group discussions, and daily interaction with refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq, UNHCR has identified seven principal factors behind the latest outflows.
These are: Loss of hope
With Syria's crisis now into its fifth year and no sign of a solution in sight, hope is dwindling for many refugees. Feelings of uncertainty about the future are compounded by miserable conditions, fuelling a sense of despair and desperation. High costs of living/Deepening poverty
Refugees in Lebanon cite the high cost of living as a factor in deciding to stay or go.
In Egypt, refugees say it is getting harder to pay rent, manage high levels of indebtedness and afford their basic needs. In Jordan, the inability to provide for one's family was the most common reason cited by people who knew someone who had left.
The cumulative effect of four years in exile with restricted access to legal employment was also said to be taking its toll. In many cases savings are long depleted, precious valuables have been sold off and many refugees across the region live in miserable conditions, struggling to pay rent, feed their families, and cover their basic needs. Limited livelihood opportunities
Without ability to work, many refugees struggle to make a living. Lack of livelihood opportunities or access to the formal labour market was cited as a problem by refugees in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. Syrian refugees in Iraq say the large number of internally displaced people has increased competition for jobs in the Kurdistan region of the country. Meanwhile, work on construction sites in the region has dried up with the drop in oil prices.
The lack of access to legal work leads refugees, desperate to provide for themselves, to resort to informal employment – risking exploitation, working in unsafe conditions or having payment withheld by unscrupulous employers. If caught working illegally, some refugees face sanctions, for example in Jordan being returned to a camp. Under new regulations in Lebanon, refugees must sign a pledge not to work when renewing their residency status. Aid shortfalls
Aid programmes for refugees and host communities in the region have been plagued by chronic funding shortages. The current inter-agency Syrian regional refugee and resilience (3RP) plan for 2015 is only 41% funded, which has meant cuts in food aid for thousands of refugees, and those that get it having to survive on US$0.45-0.50 a day. Many refugees in Jordan told UNHCR the WFP food aid cuts were the last straw in their decision to leave the country. Tens of thousands miss out on cash assistance, sinking deeper into debt. As a result people resort to negative coping strategies – including begging, child labour, and increased indebtedness. Shrinking humanitarian aid was cited by refugees in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt as cause of desperation and a driver of onward movement.
In Jordan, inadequate funding has seen refugees losing free access to healthcare. As a result, 58.3 per cent of adults with chronic conditions do without medicine or health services, up from 23 per cent in 2014. There is also a marked decrease in access to curative and preventative health care. Hurdles to renew legal residency
In Lebanon, new regulations for Syrian refugees have made it harder for Syrians to access asylum, and increasingly Syrians transit through Lebanon to Turkey. Refugees already in the country must pay US $200 per year to renew their stay. They are required to sign a pledge not to work and they must present a certified lease agreement. Many refugees are fearful of arrest or detention and feel vulnerable because of lapsed residency visas.
In Jordan, an urban verification exercise launched by the authorities in February to ensure that all Syrians residing outside of camps are issued with a new identity document to access services presents a number of challenges. The cost of obtaining a health certificate as part of the process can be prohibitive. Scant education opportunities
Limited education opportunities were cited as a problem for refugees in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. Education is highly valued among Syrians, who enjoyed free and mandatory schooling at home before the war. The worsening conditions that refugees face in exile are having a devastating impact on the education of refugees. In Jordan, some 20 per cent of children are abandoning school in order to work and in some cases girls are being forced into early marriage. Some 90,000 Syrians of school age have no formal education, with 30,000 of those accessing informal education and the rest missing out completely.
In Lebanon, where education is free to Syrians in a two-shift system, many children struggle to attend or find the new curriculum too difficult while at the same time working to support their families. While the Ministry of Education has increased by 100 per cent the number of places for Syrian children (that is, 200,000 in the 2015/2016 school year), another 200,000 Syrian children will be out of school this year.
Across the region, Syrian youth are missing out on tertiary education and losing hope about their future. Feeling unsafe
The majority of displaced Iraqis, UNHCR spoke to who were travelling outside Iraq reported feeling unsafe in the country. Many people from minority groups have told UNHCR they see migration as the key to their physical safety. The information gathered mainly applies to Syrians living as refugees in the region, but also overlaps with internally displaced people in Iraq and Syria. By Ariane Rummery
The UN’s refugee agency has expressed its dismay at the failure of the EU summit to agree on ways of offering refugees legal protection.
In a carefully-worded statement the UNHCR welcomed the allocation of extra resources and the decision to ratify the binding quota plan but it said much more was needed.
It said:
UNHCR is disappointed that, notwithstanding relocation, no further measures have been proposed to create more legal pathways for refugees to reach safety in Europe. UNHCR urges a substantial and rapid increase in legal opportunities for refugees to access the EU, including enhanced resettlement and humanitarian admission, family reunification, private sponsorship, and humanitarian and student visas.
The international community as a whole should adopt the type of exceptional response which had been used in other humanitarian crises. Without such avenues, refugees will continue to be left with few options, and the increase in international efforts to crack down on smugglers and traffickers is unlikely to be effective ...
In relation to strengthening border control at the EU external border, UNHCR insists that the management of borders needs to be consistent with national, EU and international law, including guaranteeing the right to seek asylum.
António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, added:“The relocation plan will not put an end to the problem, but it hopefully will be the beginning of a solution ...
Much more needs to be done. The plan can only work if, at entry points in Europe, robust facilities are created to receive, assist, register and screen people. These facilities must have a capacity that could handle the current average 5,000 people arriving every day by boat. They must also offer those in need of international protection a credible alternative to the present chaotic journeys across border after border at the mercy of criminal smugglers.”
Este é um momento histórico da maior relevância. A Europa tem muito a ganhar com a vinda dos refugiados. Basta pensar o que aconteceu com as vagas de judeus expulsos da península ibérica ou protestantes expulsos de França. Quem ficou a ganhar? Os países recetores enriqueceram enquanto os países de origem empobreceram. Por outro lado, na segunda guerra mundial as fugas de judeus acabaram por levar inteligência, mão-de-obra e dinheiro para os países de acolhimento empobrecendo aqueles que os expulsaram. Infelizmente, esta vaga de refugiados faz lembrar esses dias do nazismo. Tal como nesse tempo, esta gente foge da morte, foge da intolerância e foge da ignorância. Não é de estranhar que os descendentes dos Nazis sejam hoje os mesmos que espalham o medo contra os refugiados. Acusam que se dá aos refugiados a ajuda que se nega aos portugueses necessitados, mas na verdade a maioria destas pessoas nada faz para ajudar os tais compatriotas em dificuldades. Bem pelo contrário, são aqueles que costumam ajudar os nossos cidadãos em dificuldades quem agora mais rapidamente se organizou para ajudar os refugiados.
Contra a vontade de alguns dos maiores credores mundiais - Alemanha, Reino Unido e Estados Unidos - e da própria União Europeia, que se absteve, a assembleia das Nações Unidas aprovou, na quinta-feira, 10, um conjunto de nove princípios democráticos que devem sobrepor-se à voracidade dos credores sempre que um país tenha de reestruturar a dívida. Em sua defesa, além dos 136 membros que votaram a favor, estiveram 19 conhecidos economistas, entre os quais Yanis Varoufakis, ex-ministro grego das Finanças, e Thomas Piketty, autor do livro-sensação O Capital no século XXI.
Para evitar novas Argentinas (ainda em litígio contra os fundos-abutre) ou novas Grécias, as Nações Unidas recomendam que as partes negociadoras não se esqueçam de incluir, nas suas contas, o respeito por princípios universais como a soberania, boa fé, transparência, imparcialidade, igualdade de tratamento, imunidade soberana, legitimidade, sustentabilidade e que qualquer reestruturação de dívida deve ser sempre aprovada por maioria. Assim, quem empresta deve cooperar com quem pede emprestado, reconhecendo a legitimidade de um país soberano orientar a sua política macroeconómica no sentido do crescimento, desde que os direitos dos credores não sejam postos em causa. A despolitização do sistema financeiro e a ausência de alternativas às políticas de austeridade são também referidas no documento.
No manifesto assinado pelos 19 economistas, a situação recente da Grécia está bastante presente. "A crise grega tornou claro que os países que agem isoladamente não conseguem negociar condições razoáveis para a reestruturação da sua dívida." E terminavam apelando à União Europeia que votasse favoravelmente a resolução.
A Argentina, forçada pelos credores a aceitar uma dura renegociação da dívida em 2002, foi um dos países mais empenhados na aprovação da recomendação. O ministro dos Estrangeiros, Héctor Timerman, declarou, perante a assembleia das Nações Unidas: "Esta é uma resolução a favor da estabilidade económica e social, da paz e do desenvolvimento. A dívida é hoje responsável pela violência, pela desigualdade e pelas situações em que os poderosos ficam em vantagem perante o países menos desenvolvidos que precisam de capital."
Os Estados Unidos, o Reino Unido e a União Europeia (enquanto bloco de países, incluindo a Grécia...) alegaram a vontade de preservar o papel de árbitro do Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI), no que respeita aos planos de reestruturação de dívida soberana, para justificar as suas posições.
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 18 September 2015, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Yesterday's mayhem on the Serbian border with Croatia, which has since closed some entry points, and Wednesday's dramatic situation on the Hungarian border demonstrate the chaos and confusion being caused by the absence of a coherent and united response to Europe's refugee situation.
With more than 442,440 refugees and migrants having arrived via the Mediterranean so far this year, some 2,921 deaths, and 4000 people arriving on the Greek islands daily, the crisis is growing and being pushed from one country to another without solution. The suffering and risks for thousands of refugees and migrants are meanwhile increasing as uncertainty and a lack of information fuels desperation, raises the likelihood of further incidents, and stokes hostility towards people who have fled persecution and conflict and are in need of help. This environment is fertile ground for people-smugglers and others seeking to prey on this vulnerable population.
Against the context of these events UNHCR believes Thursday's decision of the European Parliament to back plans for the relocation of an additional 120,000 people to all countries of the European Union deserves applause. The Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 22 September, and the European Council meeting that has been called for 23rd of September will now be crucially important for coming to agreement. These occasions may be the last opportunity for a positive, united and coherent European response to this crisis.
UNHCR recognizes that Europe is struggling to deal with this situation, and commends the countries and their citizens that have shown willingness to resettle refugees and respond positively to a situation which although challenging is manageable, provided that Europe is united in contributing to an effective response.
UNHCR has this week proposed a number of measures towards the wider goal of helping Europe to collectively resolve this situation, namely:
- The immediate creation of facilities in Greece to receive, assist, register and screen people arriving.
- The immediate start of a process, from Greece and from existing centers in Italy, for the relocation of 40,000 refugees agreed to by the Council to participating EU countries. This should be expanded by additional voluntary pledges by EU states against the new proposals of the European Commission.
- An emergency package from the EU to Serbia to establish a similar capacity to properly assist, register and relocate people to other European countries.
- In parallel, UNHCR urges that there be a substantial increase in opportunities for Syrian refugees hosted in neighboring countries to Syria to access legal channels to the EU including enhanced resettlement and humanitarian admission, family reunification and humanitarian and student visas.
O GPE – Gabinete de Previsão Económica do OLAE –
Observatório Lusófono de Actividades Económicas prevê que a Turquia será o país
da Europa com maior crescimento económico nos próximos vinte anos.
O PIB da Turquia atingirá um valor próximo de 1 400 000
milhões de Euros a preços constantes de 2012, continuando a ser a sexta maior
economia da Europa, mas aproximando-se da quinta e quarta maiores economias que
continuarão a ser a Espanha e Itália, sendo que a Itália com um desempenho
muito fraco desde o início do novo século e com uma projecção nos últimos
lugares da lista vê estes dois países aproximarem-se rapidamente. O PIB per capita
da Turquia crescerá previsivelmente para valores pouco abaixo dos 20 mil Euros.
Portugal com uma tendência de crescimento do PIB potencial que
continua a ser muito baixa, estimando o OLAE que se situará agora pouco acima
de 1% por ano, fica no último terço da lista de países da Europa, arriscando
ser um país com muito fraco desempenho económico, sendo praticamente certo que
em termos per capita será ultrapassado pela Estónia, República Checa e Eslováquia,
estimando-se que este valor ficará muito próximo do que apresentarão Letónia,
Lituânia, Hungria, Polónia e Croácia, dentro de vinte anos. Em termos absolutos
estima-se que Portugal será ultrapassado pela Irlanda, Cazaquistão e República
Checa, ficando com um valor próximo do que terá a Roménia em 2035.
Este estudo recorreu ao modelo desenvolvido pelo próprio
OLAE, considerando não apenas os dados macroeconómicos normalmente utilizados
por instituições congéneres, mas recorrendo também à incorporação de impactos
da estrutura de custos produtivos das empresas, indicadores do endividamento e
da possibilidade de investimento e financiamento das empresas privadas, capacidade
de atração de investimento direto estrangeiro, eficiência económica do país e
capacidade de absorção de recursos financeiros e transformação em crescimento
económico duradouro.
Naturalmente, tratando-se de uma previsão de muito longo
prazo existem muitas variáveis que podem e irão alterar-se ao longo do tempo,
no entanto os resultados deste estudo dão-nos uma noção clara e importante sobre
o ponto de partida em que cada uma das economias se encontra.
Durante as próximas semanas, o OLAE irá divulgar mais
resultados deste estudo.
Definitivamente parece-me fundamental que a União Europeia consiga dar uma resposta conjunta a este problema e muito rapidamente. Não é apenas uma questão humanitária, o que já seria extremamente importante, mas é uma questão política essencial. Pela primeira vez desde a segunda guerra mundial os grupos extremistas sucessores dos Nazis estão a obter um apoio maioritário de partes cada vez mais significativas da população europeia para as suas posições.
Esta situação não podia ser mais preocupante!
EUROPEAN summits are not known for their displays of fraternity and generosity. Yet the world surely expected more from a meeting of European interior ministers, on September 14th, called to try to agree a response to the continent's growing refugee crisis. Last week the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, proposed a scheme to relocate 120,000 asylum-seekers from Greece, Hungary and Italy to most other EU countries under a quota system. No one expected the ministers to approve the plan in all its details. But few thought it would flop so decisively. The worst traditions of Brussels, from pernickety squabbles over wording to idle can-kicking, were on full display. Almost six months after the crisis erupted, the commission was reduced to issuing a statement that began by marking “a first step forward as a Union on the refugee crisis”. The UN declared itself “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.
It came as a surprise. With the support of the mighty German-French tandem for the commission’s plan, many thought that the countries sceptical of the proposal—notably the “Visegrad” four of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary—would at least allow discussions on the 120,000 to proceed, while parking the question of precisely how they would be redistributed. But the naysayers, led by the Czechs, refused to put their name to a document that did not contain the word “voluntary”. Hungary, although it would benefit from the plan, remains one of its fiercest foes. The moral appeals, threats and pleas came to nothing. “This is a real clash, a zero-sum game,” said one official from a sceptical country.
Another meeting may be convened to tackle the question. But with little prospect of a shift from the V4, the rest of the EU is preparing to use the nuclear option: a vote by qualified majority, which would mean overruling the sceptics. That would be “politically dangerous”, warns a diplomat from another of the eastern countries. It would certainly poison the well. But commission officials have started to say privately that no country would be forced to accept asylum-seekers it did not want. Instead, the 120,000 target might be reached, as with a previous scheme for 40,000 that the ministers approved last night, via voluntary pledges. The ministers barely discussed a more ambitious commission proposal for a permanent relocation scheme that would kick in whenever migrants surged to Europe.
The relocation proposal is at the heart of the commission’s plan to deal with the EU’s migrant difficulties. But Europe faces a much more pressing problem. Germany’s unexpected decision, on Sunday night, to impose controls along its border with Austria has triggered a series of similar moves, undermining the passport-free Schengen zone to which most EU countries belong. Austria has stepped up checks along its border with Hungary, and Slovakia has done the same for its frontiers with both those countries. The Hungarians, meanwhile, have come close to militarising their border with Serbia, erecting a razor-wire fence, dispatching troops and passing draconian new laws against illicit migrants. Arrests, and worse, will follow.
Each of these decisions is individually rational, but collectively they do nothing to solve the problem. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, mainly Syrians, are somewhere on the route between Greece and Germany that has emerged as the main pipeline for refugee flows this year. Every additional border control merely displaces the problem further down the line. Tensions between Hungary and Serbia will surely grow. Later this week there may be trouble along the Serbia-Macedonia border, and then on Macedonia’s border with Greece. And with 5,000 people still reaching the Greek islands from Turkey every day, the dangers of bottlenecks are clear. Meanwhile people-smugglers are already scouting out new routes into central Europe, perhaps via Croatia and Slovenia, or by sailing from Albania to southern Italy.
Political tensions are growing as markedly as migratory ones. Today Thomas de Maizière, the tough-talking German interior minister, proposed cutting EU structural funds for countries that refused to take quotas of refugees. There is little chance of that happening. But a worrying picture is emerging. Just when the need for Europe’s governments to co-operate could not be clearer, the prospect of them doing so is becoming ever-more distant.
Europe is facing the worst refugee crisis the world has seen since the second world war. With the Syrian conflict now in its fifth year, displaced people are increasingly turning to our continent for protection and help.
More and more are dying in their desperate attempts to flee war and persecution. Yet with each passing month Europe has done too little, too late. We are experiencing a refugee catastrophe, but unwillingness to act has also unveiled a serious political crisis.
Despite our troubled past, Europe must now show that it is a united continent built on the principles of solidarity, equality and liberty.
On 14 September, leaders of the European Union member states will meet in Brussels to negotiate solutions to the crisis. Today, Europe’s leading newspapers unite in an appeal by which we urge our leaders to grasp the opportunity and to take decisive action to deal with this humanitarian tragedy and prevent further loss of life.
We call on our political leaders to: • Establish simple, safe and practical ways for refugees to seek asylum in Europe without risking their lives to come here. This is the best way to eliminate human trafficking and reduce casualties. • Show solidarity toward the countries at Europe’s outer borders, where refugees and migrants first arrive, by funding and organising a safe, dignified and coordinated reception system at Europe’s edges, with a fast and fair assessment of applications for asylum. • Suspend the Dublin agreement, which returns asylum seekers to their first point of entry, so long as large numbers of refugees continue to arrive in Europe.
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• Support a fairer distribution of refugees among EU member states. All European countries must participate in a relocation programme far more ambitious than we have seen so far. The UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, has suggested that Europe takes responsibility for 200,000 refugees. This should be the starting point of the discussions. • Increase financial and humanitarian aid to Middle Eastern nations affected by the Syrian conflict. An aid package must cover not only the immediate needs of food, water and medical supplies, but should commit Europe to helping rebuild local communities in the long term, thereby offering people in the Middle East hope and opportunities for a safer and better future in their own countries. • Put increased pressure on other key international players, such as Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States, to do their utmost to bring the parties in the Syrian conflict together for UN-led peace negotiations.
Our leaders must show courage and insight if they are not to fail this test of our shared European civilisation.
We need to act, and we need to act now. Bernd Ulrich Die Zeit, Germany Ezio Mauro La Repubblica, Italy Antonio Caño El Paìs, Spain Johan Hufnagel and Laurent Joffrin Libération, France Andreas Paraschos Ekathimerini, Cyprus András Murányi Népszabadság, Hungary Matúš Kostolný Denník N, Slovakia Adam Michnik Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland Jan Helin Aftonbladet, Sweden Christian Jensen Information, Denmark Anna Jenssen Morgenbladet, Norway
German chancellor Angela Merkel calls for a special European Union summit next week to discuss the continent’s migration crisis. Speaking on Tuesday, Merkel says the idea is not to discuss so-far stalled plans for a redistribution of refugees around the EU, which is being handled by EU interior ministers. Instead, they will focus on how to speed up the construction of refugee camps known as ‘hot spots’ in Greece and Italy to register incoming refugees.
The UN refugee agency today welcomed the European Commission's proposals unveiled on Wednesday to address the current refugee crisis in Europe. "Given the urgency of the situation, these proposals need to be implemented fully and swiftly," UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler told a press briefing in Geneva.
The proposed relocation scheme for 160,000 refugees from Greece, Italy and Hungary would go a long way to address this crisis, he said. "Our initial estimates indicate even higher needs, but the focus must now be on ensuring that all Member States take part in this initiative, and that it is swiftly implemented." When relocating refugees, he added, their needs, preferences and specific qualifications should be taken into account to the extent possible.
The relocation scheme can only succeed, UNHCR said in a related statement outlining its own proposals, if it is accompanied by large-scale emergency reception, assistance and registration efforts in the countries most impacted by arrivals, particularly Greece, Hungary and Italy. To support these countries, UNHCR is calling on the EU to mobilize its asylum, migration, and civil protection agencies and mechanisms, including the resources of Member States, with the support of UNHCR, IOM and civil society.
"When disembarking in Europe or entering the European Union," Spindler told reporters, "refugees must find a welcoming environment and immediate response to their basic needs."
UNHCR welcomes the reference to opening legal channels for migration and encourages Member States to expand these legal avenues for refugees, through enhanced resettlement and humanitarian admission, family reunification, humanitarian visas, and other schemes. With more legal alternatives to reach safety in Europe, fewer people in need of international protection will be forced to resort to smugglers and undertake dangerous irregular journeys.
While calling for strong measures to be taken against people traffickers and smugglers, UNHCR insisted that the management of borders needs to be consistent with national, EU and international law, including guaranteeing the right to seek asylum.
UNHCR supports States implementing effective return policies for individuals found not to have a valid protection claim and who cannot benefit from alternative legal means to regularise their stay. "These people should be assisted to return quickly to their home countries, in full respect of their human rights," Spindler said.
UNHCR is pleased to see a reference in the Commission's proposals to the critical need to address the root causes of forced displacement around the world. A comprehensive response to refugee situations needs diplomacy, political will, and concerted action for the prevention, as well as resolution, of conflicts that force people to move. Greater investment in conflict prevention and resolution as well as durable solutions should therefore form an integral part of Europe's comprehensive approach to addressing forced displacement.
Efforts to address the root causes of the refugee crisis should include increased funding for humanitarian assistance to refugees and economic support to hosting countries, most notably around Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Somalia.
UNHCR is already ramping up its capacity in all countries affected by the current refugee flows and is ready to fully support all measures by the European Union in effectively responding to the present crisis.
It came as a surprise. With the support of the mighty German-French tandem for the commission’s plan, many thought that the countries sceptical of the proposal—notably the “Visegrad” four of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary—would at least allow discussions on the 120,000 to proceed, while parking the question of precisely how they would be redistributed. But the naysayers, led by the Czechs, refused to put their name to a document that did not contain the word “voluntary”. Hungary, although it would benefit from the plan, remains one of its fiercest foes. The moral appeals, threats and pleas came to nothing. “This is a real clash, a zero-sum game,” said one official from a sceptical country.