Röszke refugee camp, Hungary. Peter Tkac/flickr. Some rights reserved.At the beginning of 2016 Austria decided to suspend the Schengen system, joining a number of other member states that have already done so at least partially. The Austrian Chancellor also warned that they would no longer pay transfers to countries that are unwilling to be part of the EU quota system for refugees. These countries are Central and Eastern European states, which have been major recipients of EU cohesion transfers.
Thus two of the greatest achievements of European integration: the Schengen system and Cohesion Policy are unravelling in front of our eyes. Both are of central importance for eastern Europeans. As countries formerly locked behind the Iron Curtain, they appreciate more than anyone the unrestricted freedom to travel across the continent. As for Cohesion Policy, it is basically what drives economic growth today in these countries. As an example, Hungary, the leader of the anti-migrant eastern European group, has been absorbing 5-7 percentage points of its GDP in recent years from cohesion policy transfers from the Union.
Without these transfers, most countries of the region would have had no economic growth in recent years, and governments would have collapsed. It is therefore highly surprising that these countries are willing to risk these enormously important benefits for the miniscule contribution of taking in a few thousand refugees
