Strasbourg, 02/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - Meeting for a plenary session on Tuesday 2 February, the MEPs held a further debate on the migration situation in the EU and returned to certain recent events, such as the New Year sex attacks in Germany, or various plans leaked to the media which suggest that the refoulement of migrants will be allowed.
However, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Bert Koenders, swiftly reassured the MEPs that the non-refoulement of migrants continues to be a key principle of the EU; with migrants arriving in numbers of 2,000 a day on average in January, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Minister urged the states to implement the decisions made, particularly regarding hotspots. Progress has been made, but Greece and Italy are still being asked to make efforts in this area. On relocation, just “400 people have been relocated thus far, this is not enough”, the Minister said, explaining that there had not been enough volunteers and that the Dutch Presidency had started this week of discussions with the member states, in particular with the most reluctant countries, to encourage them to get on board more.
On the future of the Schengen area, the Minister explained that the Presidency was determined to preserve the integrity of the zone, even though Denmark announced on 2 February that it was to extend its controls on its internal border until 23 February.
The European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos for his part stressed that the Commission had no intention of excluding any country from the Schengen area, such as Greece, even though it is the subject of close monitoring on its part (see other article). The official also pointed out the need to return migrants who are not eligible for international protection to their country of origin as soon as possible.
Of the MEPs, Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP, reiterated the importance of integration for migrants and “those who do not share the values of the country must leave it”, he said. The German MEP was referring in particular to the New Year incidents in Cologne. ALDE head Guy Verhofstadt said that in the current situation, there is an urgent need to act on the basis of article 78.3 and to take further emergency measures. Additionally, giving €3 billion to the Turkish government should be avoided, making sure that this money goes directly to the refugees in Turkey, but also in Lebanon and Jordan. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)