The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) awaits the future Pact on Asylum and Migration with “great hope” but “also with concern”, reacted its President, Luca Jahier, during an exchange on the subject on Thursday 16 July with the Vice-President responsible for promoting the European way of life, Margarítis Schinás.
“The situation can’t go on any longer: the southern European Member States, especially Greece, but also Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania have to bear a disproportionate burden while some countries are shirking their obligations, refusing to show solidarity”, criticised the President, who hopes the Pact “will lead to a substantial reform of the Dublin system (the Regulation that determines responsibilities), which has been a black hole in EU policy for too long”, he said in a statement.
Mr Schinás, for his part, said that the Commission was “almost ready to present the new Pact”.
External borders, returns and burden sharing in the EU
Its key principle will be “that Europe continues to be an asylum destination for those fleeing persecution and dictatorship and seeking to protect their lives”. But those who cannot get this protection “will simply have to go home”.
The Pact will also have “a strong external dimension to regulate the EU’s relations with the countries of origin and with immediate neighbours such as Turkey and Libya. The EU would help these countries to create more residence opportunities for their young citizens, so that they are less tempted to emigrate”.
Finally, more solid management of external borders and the shared management of asylum applications on an equal footing between all Member States, thereby ensuring solidarity and relieving the burden on first entry countries, are other avenues envisaged by the Pact.
The Asylum and Migration Pact will not be presented until the EU27 have reached agreement on the EU budget and the Recovery Plan. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)