Interview: Former Austrian vice-chancellor urges EU-wide efforts to tackle refugee crisis

Facing the ongoing refugee crisis, the European Union (EU) member states need to learn to tackle the crisis as a whole union, or the union will not exist anymore, former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Erhard Busek said.

The currently adopted measures for handling the refugee crisis have "nothing to do with reality," the former vice-chancellor said in an interview with Xinhua, citing some member states' border controls within the EU.

The EU has yet to find a common solution to the refugee crisis as member states wish to remain separate but are unable to deal with the crisis on their own, according to Busek, sitting head of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) Scientific Research Institute.

Busek added that to tackle the crisis as a whole union, member states would have to give up part of their power. But that has proven to be a huge psychological problem, as governments and parliaments do not wish to "liquidate" themselves.

Austria, the last stop for refugees to Germany, has been criticized for its decision to cap the number of refugees coming to the country. Busek noted the Austrian government's proposal to send 100 troops to the Macedonian border with Greece would have little effect to stem the influx of refugees.

He added that without an organization specializing in the handling of the refugee crisis, such measures would not be enough for the Austrian government.

Busek also warmed the EU must realize that more Syrian refugees will wish to leave their war-torn homeland as "bombs are coming down."

As a result, Europe should have to learn a lesson from the crisis -- any member state cannot solve the crisis on its own. Otherwise, the EU will not exist anymore, he said.

The learning process could take anywhere from a few years to decades but will end with greater unity of the bloc.

Referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's handling of the refugee crisis, Busek said he hopes Merkel would survive the present crisis, and that her initial choice to open borders to refugees indicated a sense of principles.

However, Busek worried that Merkel would not be able to maintain her leadership without adequate supports from her own party.

Germany's decision to provide financial aid to Turkey for tackling the crisis is short-term and is likely to fail, he said, as both sides have different appeals.

He noted that Turkey wants more money, but whether the money will be used for the refugees remains unknown, as the country has been beset by conflicts with the Kurds and Russia.

As for the comment that the EU should reduce itself to a core group of states, Busek believed that it would not happen, as no country is willing to be excluded from the union, and they all want to be part of the "core Europe."

In this way, the EU can be seen as a "fair weather institution" with member states' willingness to participate under good condition. But now with the refugee crisis, no one is prepared to tackle the negative consequences of a separate union, Busek said. Endi