Anti-immigration mood sweeping EU capitals puts strain on bloc’s unity

From Germany's border checks to France's vow to restore order, rejection of open borders could threaten Schengen zone

In 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany's then chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say Wir schaffen das" (We can manage this"), and open the country's borders.

Less than a decade later, and faced with a flow of irregular arrivals less than 10% of what it was at the peak of the bloc's migration crisis, EU capitals are increasingly saying, No, we can't." Or, perhaps more accurately, We won't."