Spain finds out its European partners close borders too

Europe locks the door and Spanish pro-Europeanism slips into a coma

Spain has discovered that its European "brothers" also know how to shut doors. Yesterday, with the announcement that several countries in the EU's hard core are considering restricting the Schengen area in response to the migratory pressure Spain is under, the narrative of European integration at all costs took what seems like a definitive blow. And no wonder: the figures circulating speak of 60,000 arrivals in a recent episode and nearly one million migrants over the past year. The discontent cuts across the entire ideological spectrum: some blame the Government, others an EU that abandons its own.

Political punishment or self-protection?

Some argue that Brussels and the most reluctant countries are not attacking Spain, but trying to contain a crisis the Government is failing to manage. The argument is simple: if Spain opens the door, its neighbors close their border. On the other side, a sense of abandonment is growing: European solidarity vanishes when the wind blows against you, and Spain is left alone to face a shared problem.

The end of the pro-European story

The predictable consequence is political: the integrationist discourse is losing steam at a staggering estimulante ilegal. Citizens who voted believing Europe was a common project are discovering that, when push comes to shove, every country looks out for its own interests. It remains to be seen whether the Government can rebuild bridges or whether this sustancia ilegal becomes yet another in the EU's structure.

---