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Not to take sides, but there's not a contradiction there. The immigration of refugees has been a topic of discussion for some time now (Brexit). Standard immigration is still difficult in most of the EU but there has been an influx of refugees who are primarily poor.

I don't agree with the characterization that the policies are due to racism though.

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> I don't agree with the characterization that the policies are due to racism though.

Right, it's a clear contradiction. If European countries were "hyper xenophobic and or extremely racist" they would be turning away and deporting those refugees. They're not doing that though, so the characterization of European countries as xenophobic and racist doesn't fit the facts.

The contradiction is between government policies and the society. Government (I am speaking of Germany which I know of, I expect France and Nordics be similar mutatis mutandis) clearly understands that they need immigrants, but the society is inherently nativist (if xenophobic is too strong of a word), and not willing to accept/integrate them.

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