By Bildt, C., 2016
Despite an avalanche of different proposals, a series of EU summits in early 2016 failed to reach agreement on a viable common EU refugee policy. As attempts to put an end to conflict in Syria failed, an increasing number of people fled across the Mediterranean, prompting first Austria, then Germany, then everyone else to reintroduce national border controls. The Schengen zone de facto collapsed. As a consequence, tensions built up in the Balkans, with direct armed confrontation along the border between Greece and Macedonia.
The collapse of the Schengen zone also caused the general political climate in the EU to decline. In early April of 2016, a tide of anti-EU sentiment led to a referendum in the Netherlands, which held the EU Presidency, with a vote to turn down the EU-Ukraine agreement. The Kremlin praised "the wisdom" of the Dutch people.
