If the EU doesn’t resist far-right anti-immigration pressure it will unleash moral and economic destruction
Saman Rizwan outlines why inclusive policy is both an economic necessity and an innate moral duty.
This year, Europe’s far-right wing has crossed an invisible threshold, mutating from a nervous joke to a genuine threat.
Its expanding influence is clearly exposed by overhyped debates on what is consistently referred to as the migration ‘crisis’. Just last week, leaders from across the EU gathered for a summit in Brussels. Several major topics were on the agenda - including the war in Ukraine and the declining competitiveness of our economy; yet, immigration stole the show.
Our leaders - those we trust to uphold our values and preserve our wellbeing - spent this critical meeting coming up with a baseless scheme to seal our borders for good.
Their favoured solution is nothing short of a dystopian plot. It involves deporting vulnerable asylum seekers to countries outside of the EU, where their innocent lives may well be at risk.
Worse still, this thinly-veiled attempt to appease the far-right is a direct betrayal of the EU’s UN obligations, setting a terrifying precedent for the systematic erosion of human rights. For decades, the EU has stood as a defender of the world’s most vulnerable groups, such as women, children and disabled people. It has led the development of, and commitment to, several international agreements scrupulously designed to safeguard these groups at any cost.
Now, it plans to abandon them without second thought.
This scapegoating of migrants has been dreamt up by far-right figures like Geert Wilders and Viktor Orbán, using a devious tactic as old as time. When hit by crises that require too much effort to solve, simply lay the blame on those who cannot fight back. Rising inflation? Blame immigrants. Healthcare issues? Blame the disabled.
But these simplistic lies conceal a far greater truth.
Don’t be lured in by far-right fearmongering. In reality, the long-term benefits of migration far outweigh the short-term costs. According to recent analysis by expert economists at Leiden University, almost every country in the EU spends less on migrants than they do on natives, while receiving more in return. Italy, which has recently captured the spotlight for its callous attempts to outsource its asylum process, is highlighted as one of several countries where migrants contribute more than they cost.
And it isn’t just migrants. The World Economic Forum states that the exclusion of disabled people can cost entire countries up to 7% of their wealth, while inclusion can increase revenues and profit margins by almost a third. Even gender equality, which we are repeatedly told has improved by leaps and bounds, could boost the EU’s GDP by over €3 trillion if its potential were fully unlocked.
It's high-time we face the facts. The EU’s economy is flailing under an eye-watering €800 billion shortfall in funding. Our populations are getting older and frailer, our industrial sectors are in an agonising decline and our most talented employees are seeking brighter opportunities elsewhere in the world.
Now more than ever, we need to embrace those who have been left on the sidelines –migrants, women, disabled people and others – as empowered contributors to our society.
It really isn’t that hard. Just this month, the G7 gathered in Italy for a Ministerial Meeting on Inclusion and Disability. After two days of intensive discussion, they presented the Solfagnano Charter, reaffirming their unwavering commitment to the equal participation of disabled people in all aspects of social, cultural, educational, economic, civil and political life.
The very next day, the Open Societies Foundation set the bar even higher, with its Open Futures Forum Roundtable in Rome. As a sideline event to the Ministerial, it expanded the topic of disability rights to amplify the contributions of underrepresented communities, particularly disabled women in the Global South.
“The world is grappling with unprecedented challenges—climate change, conflict, and the digital economy’s rapid transformation,” said Sara Minkara, the US Department of State’s Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, in her keynote address. “Yet, in all these discussions, the voices of people with disabilities are essential not just because it's the right thing to do but because we drive innovation and create value.”
The EU could learn a lot from Minkara’s words. Simply put, inclusive policy is both an economic necessity and an innate moral duty.
From the horrors of World War II to the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, Europe knows firsthand the suffering caused by displacement and the critical role that asylum and refuge play in protecting human lives. Welcoming migrants isn’t just a question of economics or policy; it’s about ensuring we never repeat the mistakes of the past.
We now face a stark, yet straightforward choice. Either we follow the far-right’s divisive path of stagnation and discrimination, or we build a future where everyone’s talents are valued. As for migration, the question is no longer whether we can afford to be inclusive—but whether we can afford not to be.
Saman Rizwan is UK-based analyst on South Asian affairs. She has a Masters in International Relations from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU, Singapore. As a journalist and commentator she writes frequently on international politics, technology, human rights and gender-based violence, for publications like South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, The Nation, Forbes, and Newsweek. She has reported from Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. She is a former researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research.
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger
