IN EUROPE, THE OPTIMISM IS JUST OVERWHELMING: Norway wants to deny all refugees if ‘it all breaks down.’

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is proposing emergency legislation that would allow Norway to deny entry to all asylum seekers who do come directly from countries in conflict.

Solberg said that the legislation would only be implemented in an emergency situation and would protect Norway from the deteriorating situation within the Schengen region and the mounting strain the Swedish asylum system is facing from the current refugee crisis in Europe.

Under her plan, asylum seekers entering from Russia or other Nordic countries would be immediately rejected if they are not coming directly from areas of conflict.

The legislation would go against the UN Refugee Convention and has therefore faced strong criticism, but Solberg said it would only be implemented in the face of a complete breakdown of Sweden’s asylum system, which took in 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 and expects an additional 100,000 this year.

A lot of Americans have been saying the Swedish system is in danger of collapse. This is a little more authoritative.

UPDATE: From Agence France Press: #BREAKING: EU warns migration system could ‘completely break down’ in 10 days.