European Frontex migrant search and rescue mission in Mediterranean Sea, off coast of Spain, August, 2015. Francisco Seco / Press Association. All rights reserved.Over 3,000 migrants have died at sea on their way to Europe this year, up from about 2,000 in the same period last year. Facing such a horrific death toll, one would expect the main response would be to do everything to prevent such deaths, notably by providing safe routes for people to seek refuge, yet the EU's response has focused instead on increased and militarised border security – less concerned with saving peoples’ lives than preventing people from entering the EU.
Why has the EU reacted in such an inhumane way? Well there are obviously a range of reasons. The toxic mix of austerity and perceived insecurity in the wake of terrorist attacks, for example, has been a major recruiting tool for far-right groups and made politicians across Europe fear being perceived as lax on border security.
However, it is also important to follow the money. In this case, there is clearly one group of interests that have only benefited from the refugee crisis and the European Union’s investment in ‘securing’ its borders. They are the military and security companies that provide equipment to border guards, the surveillance technology to monitor frontiers, and the IT infrastructure to track population movements.
