Summer: European Union and Germany

summer: A political backlash threatens the governing systems of the European Union and many of its members, according to Brandon Sun. In response, several governments are taking actions that contradict the spirit and the legal framework that have defined for decades the rights of those seeking asylum. Since summer 2015, the massive influx of refugees from the Middle East and parts of Africa has challenged long-held conventions and policies on immigration in Europe. Germany has been at the epicentre of these developments. The choreography of change, especially in an open democracy like Germany, is an intricate play of forces fascinating and admirable to observe firsthand — but, for those involved, difficult to manage with various competing outcomes. Since Chancellor Angela Merkel historic announcement last September that opened Germany borders to an estimated million refugees, citizens and governments at the national, regional and local level have been wrestling with tough questions on what this surge of newcomers from outside of Europe means for their accepted notions of governance and identity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.