This East-West split over EU refugee quotas will have long-lasting consequences
More people on the move than ever before….
For weeks, the migrant crisis has dominated the headlines across Europe. Follow us for UPDATES EVERY DAY and extend your vocabulary at the same time! Start now by filling in the missing nouns/verbs in the text below. Then check your answers along with the explanation of the words marked in red right after the text.
Level: C1
Read the full article on the Telegraph
By forcing eastern states to take in migrants from Italy and Greece, old Europe has sown the seeds of a more divided Union
EU member states have ag………………………………. (1) to relocate 120,000 refugees from Italy and Greece to other EU countries (not including the UK) despite fierce opp…………………………… (2) from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, who voted against the proposal. Finland ab…………………………………… (3) while despite eventually voting in favour; Poland and the Baltic states also held deep res………………………………………...(4)
Notwithstanding the fact that the scheme has a number of practical fl………………………………. (5), and does nothing to address the underlying causes of the migration crisis, riding roughshod (6) over national sensitivities and democratic preferences in such a sensitive area is also likely to have significant and far-reaching consequences for the EU’s future development.
The back…………………………….. (7) has been instant, with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico pro……………………………….(8) “As long as I am Prime Minister, mandatory quotas will not be implemented on Slovak territory.” Poland’s likely next Prime Minister Beata Szydlo described the vote as a “scandal”. Even Jiri Pospisil, a former Czech justice minister and MEP with the pro-EU TOP09 party, described the result as “a great defeat for Europe”.
Perhaps tensions will ea……………………………. (9) in the short term and the member states that voted against will e………………… up (10) accepting their share of refugees, although it remains to be seen whether and how the EU will try to force them to do so if they maintain their opposition. Moreover, with the UNHCR estimating that some 478,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to reach the EU so far this year, it is clear that the relocation member states have agreed to will not be sufficient. This could lead to a much larger round of quotas appearing on the table and a precedent will have been set.
Answer Key & WORDS TO KNOW
sown the seeds (to sow the seeds) = put the seeds in the ground (to let them grow)
(1) agreed (to do something)
(2) fierce opposition = strong opposition
(3) abstained = did not vote
(4) held deep reservations = had strong doubts
(5) flaws = weaknesses /faults
(6) riding roughshod (over someone) = not caring about how your acts will affect someone
(7) backlash = strong reaction / feeling
(8) proclaiming = declaring
(9) ease = become less severe
(10) end up (……..+ING) = will finally …
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2iN1 NEWS & ENGLISH – The migrant crisis explained
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