Brussels, 26/11/2014 (Agence Europe)- On Tuesday 25 November, the new European Commissioner for Migration and Internal Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos, promised the MEPs that he would do all in his power to relay the calls made by Pope Francis not to allow the Mediterranean to become a “graveyard” for migrants.
The Greek Commissioner reiterated the Commission's commitment to adopt a global approach to migration, at a debate on the situation in the Mediterranean hosted by the president of the committee on civil liberties of the EP, Claude Moraes (S&D, UK). He stressed that the member states must implement the asylum package as soon as possible and that use must be made of all of the possibilities under the Dublin regulation. At this point, however, the Greek Commissioner sees no justification to call into question this system, which some feel is perverse as it involves transfers of asylum seekers between countries. “I do not believe that we should turn the asylum system upside down”, he said, but “we will see in due course”.
The Commission also told the MEPs that his services had held an exchange of views on 24 November on a possible mechanism for allocating refugees between the member states. When we contacted them, the spokesperson to Avramopoulos's services had not yet replied as of Wednesday 26 November.
The MEPs also discussed the draft bill of the Spanish government to legalise “hot returns” of illegal immigrants, specifically to Morocco from Ceuta and Mellila. Most of the MEPs condemned the bill, as they feel it is against European and international law. The former Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, has expressed her concerns. Avramopoulos has resumed contact with the Spanish Home Affairs Ministry and plans to visit the country in the next few months. “This is a situation we are taking extremely seriously”, the Commissioner said. “We have to ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is respected and that asylum law is applied”. (SP)