A brave step forward: The EU was right to push through a quota system for accepting refugees, but it will worsen Europe’s divisions
A moment of relief, at last, in the gathering fury of the refugee crisis. Progress has been a long time coming, but the decision by EU interior ministers to push through a quota system counts as a step – and an important one – in the right direction. It will relieve the vastly overburdened Italy and Greece, speed up the asylum process for a total of 120,000 Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans, and establish a framework through which Europe can begin to manage a crisis it has so far met with bluster and backsliding.