Strasbourg, 10/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - As expected, on Thursday 10 September, the day after the unveiling of a package of new measures to deal with the migration crisis and the flood of refugees into Europe, the European Parliament backed the European Commission's action.
In a resolution passed by a wide majority (432 to 142, with 57 abstentions), the MEPs called for a compulsory mechanism to divide up asylum-seekers among countries and amend the Dublin system. They called on the member states to introduce compulsory resettlement schemes for refugees.
The day before, the European Parliament endorsed the proposals unveiled in May to relocate 40,000 people from Greece and Italy, a proposal due to be finalised at a special Justice and Home Affairs Council on 14 September (see EUROPE 11363). On Thursday, MEPs renewed their support for the new relocation mechanism for 120,000 individuals from Greece, Italy and Hungary (see EUROPE 11385).
The common EPP, ALDE, S&D and Greens/EFA resolution welcomes the Commission's initiatives on sharing out and resettlement, and also the new proposal for emergency sharing out of a greater number of asylum-seekers requiring international protection from Greece, Italy and Hungary. The resolution supports the Commission's announcement of a permanent sharing mechanism for emergencies that would take account of the number of refugees present in each member state, based on Article 78, paragraph 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
The MEPs assured the Commission that they were prepared to examine the new emergency sharing system using the accelerated procedure, as the EP is only consulted on the measure. MEPs said they were planning to ensure progress, in parallel, on all the other measures unveiled by the Commission so as to ensure that the member states do not delay the introduction of the permanent sharing mechanism.
The EP repeated its desire for a compulsory sharing mechanism that takes account, where possible, of the refugees' preferences. The resolution adopted on Thursday also calls for the introduction in the EU of legally secure and legal paths for refugees and more specific common measures for humanitarian visas. The EP repeats its call on the member states to ensure that it is possible to lodge asylum applications at its embassies and consulates. On Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker announced a legal migration package in 2016 for migrants seeking work.
The remainder of the resolution adopted on Thursday backs the list of safe countries unveiled by the European Commission on 9 September. The EP says that the list must not threaten the principle of non-rejection or anyone's right to asylum. The MEPs repeated their support for the Schengen free circulation of individuals and called on the member states to tackle underlying causes of migration at the Valetta summit on 11 and 12 November.
The support from the big political groupings at the EP for the European Commission's new measures cannot be denied, but does not remove all disagreement among or within groups. Eva Joly (Greens/EFA, France) issued a press release regretting that the EPP did not back her amendment to allow asylum-seekers the right to work as soon as they arrive in the EU. She asked why asylum-seekers are forced to rely on social security when they would like to play a full part in the country that has taken them in.
Divergent approaches
Within the EPP, reservations have been expressed, particularly in the French group, about the compulsory nature of the mechanisms proposed by Juncker. The reservations came to light during the vote on the Ska Keller report on 9 September on the relocation of 40,000 individuals from Greek and Italy (see EUROPE 11361). In a press release criticising some of the measures set out in the Keller report, Brice Hortefeux explained that the French delegation backed the principle of provisional relocation measures for refugees from Greece and Italy, but expressed strong reservations about how it should be implemented. He explained that by saying we want binding quotas, by allowing refugees to challenge relocation decisions, and by determining the final destination by a list of the refugee's preferred countries, they would be encouraging mass migration and people crossing the Mediterranean, and above all, they would be keeping the modern-day slave traders (people-smugglers) in work.
All the French MEPs in the EPP, however, approved of the common resolution on migration bar Nadine Morano, who lined up with the camp of MEPs hostile to the resolution, such as the Hungarian MEPS from the EPP group. (Solenn Paulic)