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Witnessing this situation, Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly announced a few months ago that Germany would take them all in. Whether this was to polish her image after the economic disaster that her government imposed on the Greeks, reverse the ageing demographics at home or just atonement for her country’s past, we can’t say. What we do know is that estimates of the number of migrants into Germany this year alone quickly snowballed from 400,000 to 800,000 to 1.5 million. The latest report suggests that 14 million could settle between now and 2020, in which case German society will be irreversibly impacted, perhaps even sooner than that.

According to official statistics, only 1 in 5 migrants arriving in Germany in 2015 are actually from Syria. So contrary to popular belief the majority of migrants are not refugees ; rather, they are young men seeking a better life. And why wouldn’t they come, when Merkel is doling out her fellow taxpayers’ money ? Whether they will find a job is a different matter, as the foreign worker unemployment rate is already much higher than that of the natives.

The cost for Germany to deal with all of this is enormous, with estimates suggesting that over the next twenty years it could easily rival the also enormous reunification cost with East Germany. And it’s the childless Germans who will foot the bill.

Facing criticism and divisive tensions seldom seen at home, Merkel had to act. First she tried to ‎spread these migrants all over Europe, claiming that this was the “fair thing” to do. Several countries refused. Then she went to Turkey to negotiate a deal to stop the influx at the source. Sensing weakness and in no mood to deal with Europe’s migration problems, President Erdogan promptly demanded a hefty sum of cash to think about it and a fast track to join the EU (even the new Islamist government in Libya is now threatening to flood Europe with migrants, so this crisis has become a great way to hold the EU hostage – thanks to the EU itself).

The latest plan is to provide welfare benefits only to Syrian refugees, speed up processing times and tighten some border controls here and there. What to do with the hundreds of thousands of other migrants with “weak cases” was not disclosed. We speculate that they will not return home after all they went through, and as such might be condemned to a life in limbo. This pussy footing will also not stop the millions of others already on their way.

The security risks are staggering. Rather than protecting its borders, allowing Germany to eventually regain control of the situation and provide adequate care to those who are already there, Merkel prefers to risk the social fabric and the safety of her fellow citizens. Think about what a million plus of unemployed and alienated young men can do roaming around the country.

And why can’t she do it ? Because she fears those same “politics of dystopia” proposed by Roubini. Each member state reinstating its borders is an intolerable step back in her quest to abolish their national identities. In her mind the solution to every EU problem is more EU, and for sure much less Germany, France, UK and whomever else.

Perhaps this could make sense if member state nationalism was replaced by a powerful new sense of European identity. But who wants to embrace the basket case that the EU has become ? With some of the least charismatic world leaders to boot ? Even its own currency is flawed, promoting deep structural imbalances among member states. [even its own currency is flawed !!!]

Worse, getting rid of nationalism makes the EU vulnerable to being taken over by other ideologies. Perhaps the most menacing to Europe right now is the rise of political Islam. Any Islamo-phobe will tell you that the demographics are on their side, especially once all these new migrants settle in. ‎It would be ironic that the most liberal continent on the planet might end up adopting the least liberal religion in the coming decades.

With all of this unfolding, it is natural for the EU’s allies and trading partners to be apprehensive about the prospects of it staying together. The US has even warned the UK of dire commercial consequences if it votes itself out in the forthcoming referendum. Well, forcing someone to stay against their democratic will is not a great solution either. Not that the voice of the people across member states matters in Brussels anyway.

Now, we don’t highlight all of this because we like to see Europe in the dumpster. Quite the opposite. It pains us to see what is going on and the lack of leadership to confront what are truly existential threats. The world needs a strong Europe. And for that to happen, the current political, social and economic guidelines need to change.

Roubini does have a point. There are politics of dystopia at work in Europe. But he puts the blame squarely on the wrong side.

The EU doesn’t need any nationalists to destroy its future prospects. It’s doing absolutely fine on its own.