The Government would have convened Parliament to request extraordinary funds and approve emergency measures.

This article was first published in Spain in El País on 2 September 2015. Translation by Carla Hobbs.

The account of European inaction is as graphic as the images of refugees that flood the news. Added to the tragedy of the drowned or suffocated is the unwavering determination of families who cross Europe on foot in harsh conditions with just the clothes on their back. Those parents who squeeze their children under the fences reveal what Europe means today: the area of peace, freedom and security to which millions of human beings aspire. But instead of hearing that message with pride, we interpret this aspiration as a threat. Instead of seizing this opportunity to make Europe stronger, we weaken it through pathetic internal divisions, sow doubt in the mind of the public and fuel the xenophobes who demand less Europe, more national borders and less foreigners.

Almost everything that needs to be said has been said about the myopia and miserliness of many European governments. This mindset also seems to restrict the flow of ideas on how to deal with the situation at hand. At this rate, the migratory crisis will be relegated to the category of things we do not want to do anything about: the category of "tragedy". But countering the temptation to give up and conclude that the problem has no solution, there is an infallible remedy: to change the perspective from which we approach the problem.

Imagine for just a moment that Europe were a country. In this Europe, the Government would have convened Parliament to request extraordinary funds and approve emergency measures. Its border police and coast guard would be rescuing migrants at risk. Its armed forces would be building camps in Greece and Hungary to host refugees, organise the reuniting of families and process their asylum applications. Its consular services would be arranging the necessary safe passages for refugees to prevent them risking their lives in the hands of criminal gangs. And its diplomats would be mobilising in the United Nations and pressuring Russia to force the Assad regime to stop the war and open peace negotiations.

To imagine a different present is the only way to build a better future.

Read more on: Migration, Refugee Crisis, Internal responses to the refugee crisis, Series, European Power