Brussels, 28/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Italo-French summit in Rome on Tuesday 26 April and the letter sent by Silvio Berlusconi and Nicolas Sarkozy to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso bring a short-term and dangerous response to a serious situation, say David Sassoli and Catheine Trautmann leaders of the Italian and French Socialist MEPs in the S&D Group in the European Parliament. They see it as a pseudo response which works to the detriment of Europe.
The MEPs write: “If it is right to consider that management of an influx of migrants should be the responsibility of the European Union, wanting to adjust the Schengen agreements, as the two leaders do, demonstrates a false and worrying interpretation of the powers of the EU in this area. At a time when the Mediterranean region is experiencing major upheavals, it is up to Europe as a whole to help the democratic reform that the people of North Africa are seeking. What is needed is the launch of forms of partnership that are better adapted to the reality of the current situation so as to manage migratory flows together on either side of the Mediterranean”.
On the message from Berlusconi and Sarkozy, “we clearly see an obstinate refusal to build genuinely European solutions. No one will be fooled: the two leaders are having to deal with populist groupings in their respective countries. To win this battle of electoral populism, their policy is simple: exaggerate the danger posed by the immigration and mock Europe for not being able to conduct definite policies”.
They conclude: “We expect the European Council of June to adopt courageous stances to allow the European Commission to bring forward solid proposals. A genuine European immigration policy must pursue three objectives: ensuring full respect for the rights of asylum seekers, tackling human trafficking and fairly, clearly and equitably defining the criteria for legal migration. This policy forms the basis for the success of the economic development of these countries and being able to give all those who have chosen democracy a future”. (Com-Gp/transl.rt)