Brussels, 01/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Germany and France are prepared to examine the proposed temporary EU-scale relocation mechanism for asylum seekers.
In the view of the French and German home affairs ministers, the “unprecedented” crisis in the Mediterranean and its consequences for the frontline countries particularly affected by increasing influxes of migrants call for a response at the level of the European Union, “based on the principles of responsibility, solidarity and a fairer share-out of the efforts” between member states.
Reiterating that five member states (France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Hungary) host “75% of all asylum seekers”, Thomas de Maizière and Bernard Cazeneuve state that they are inclined to “examine the Commission's proposal for a temporary relocation mechanism at EU level for asylum seekers in manifest need of protection, using a fair and agreed distribution key”. They add that “above all, this distribution key should take greater account of the efforts already made by the member states as regards international protection and other forms of assistance already in place, such as humanitarian admissions”.
In a joint press release published on Monday 1 June, the two ministers stressed the need for a “temporary and exceptional” mechanism, taking account of “principles of equal importance: responsibility and solidarity”, a balance which, they argue, “has not yet been achieved” in the proposal (see EUROPE 11322). They went on to stress that “increased solidarity is possible only if all member states of first entry which are responsible for the external borders of the EU take, with the support of the European budget, all legal and financial measures necessary to step up the surveillance of the external borders”.
Germany and France are therefore calling for the following relocation mechanism: - migrants arriving in the countries of first entry should be taken to 'hotspots' located close to the landing sites; - with the support of the European Asylum Support Office, the migrants would then be identified and registered under the European rules in force and would then be dealt with under a procedure adapted to their situation; - some of the asylum seekers in manifest need of protection will be relocated to other member states, under the distribution key agreed upon; - illegal migrants would be returned or turned away as soon as possible, with “extended” support from the agency Frontex and “reinforced” contact with the country of origin; - the situation of migrants in neither of those two categories will be examined in the framework of common asylum right procedures, in the countries of first entry.
Measures specific to nationals of the Balkan states. Paris and Berlin are also calling for measures to be taken under the post-visa liberalisation mechanism system with the countries of the Western Balkans. “Manifest abuses in these matters should not create excessive burdens on the asylum systems of the member states, nor destabilise them. It is unacceptable that such situations are delaying the allocation of international protection to those who really need it”, the two countries stress, arguing that it is “essential” to consider a “temporary suspension of the visa liberalisation in the event of vital necessity”.
When asked about this common position, the European Commission welcomed the fact that Germany and France are working together and in support of the European response to the migration crisis, based on the principles of responsibility and solidarity. The suggested mechanism will not enter into force until it has been adopted by the Council, it added. The competent European ministers will discuss this dossier at their meeting in Luxembourg on 15 and 16 June. (Mathieu Bion)