Brussels, 28/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - France is seen as a country that could have an impact on the majority required at the Council. On Wednesday 27 May, it gave a cautious welcome to the European Commission proposals to encourage member states to take in 40,000 migrants likely to obtain political asylum and the 20,000 refugees currently being cared for in third countries, which would mean France taking in almost 9,000 migrants.
In a press release, French Home Secretary Bernard Cazeneuve disputed the distribution key chosen by the European Commission and said: “The distribution key should take better account of the efforts already made by member states in the context of international protection, as well as other forms of assistance such as humanitarian admissions".
France, nonetheless, said that it was “prepared to look at an EU-wide solidarity distribution mechanism for asylum seekers clearly needing protection. Five member states are effectively responsible for 75% of asylum seekers today in the European Union, a situation that is untenable … The balance between responsibility and solidarity should therefore be fully respected in order to attain a solidarity distribution mechanism at a European level. The measures presented by the Commission today must be completed accordingly”.
France believes it crucial to “set up solid mechanisms with European Union support in the most affected countries that help to rapidly identify (using robust and shared criteria) migrants in clear need of protection. Illegal migrants will therefore be subject to return and removal measures from the first country of origin, with France's support”.
Belgium has also sent negative signals in this respect, expressed by Minister Théo Francken. He also believes that the Commission proposal did not sufficiently take into account the efforts already made by certain member states in taking in asylum seekers. When asked on Tuesday 26 May, Francken (N-VA) is reported by Belga as saying that the Commission had to take more into account a country's population density rather than the number of inhabitants, when establishing quotas. Under the terms of the criteria decided, Belgium will be called on to take in 2.91% of the asylum seekers distributed among member states.
Spain also expressed misgivings about the criteria. The Baltic countries, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic also oppose this quotas system, as does the United Kingdom, which has, however, the right not to take part in these initiatives, as do Ireland and Denmark. (Solenn Paulic)