The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament wants a real change of direction in European asylum and migration policies, but was still “worried” about “certain rumours” on Tuesday 22 September on the eve of the presentation by the European Commission of its ‘Asylum and Migration Pact’.
In a briefing with French MEP Damien Carême, the group reiterated its support for the 2016 proposals, which were largely adopted by Parliament in 2017 and which included automatic returns of asylum seekers arriving in a country to the signatory country of their choice. The group also wants to abolish the Dublin rule which makes the first country of entry the country responsible for the asylum application, “which means that countries like Italy, Malta and Greece are overwhelmed”.
The MEP recalled that Parliament wanted an initial effort of voluntary reception, but “it will be necessary to open reception places with a distribution key”, if the first effort is insufficient. The Greens/EFA concern is that “we hear that the Dublin principle [country of first entry] is going to stay, even though we have been told that ‘Dublin’ is being withdrawn”. The group thus fears another Moria and also fears accelerated border procedures. It calls for a “profound change” in European policy so as not to relive the current impasses.
The evening before, the French Minister for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, had given his version of things. “Dublin must be complemented by a permanent and structuring solidarity mechanism that we still do not have today. This is what we need to find”, he said. “We cannot have an asylum and migration system that does not contain rules on responsibility [registration, swift deportation] with European support. We also need a pillar of solidarity. For migrants who have the right to asylum, there is no reason why only a few countries should take care of them”, the Frenchman added, saying that “new parameters are needed to overcome the issue of compulsory relocation. One can imagine tiered or more flexible modalities”.
The European Commission will present a package of new legislation, plans and communications on 23 September. The President, Ursula von der Leyen, already announced on 16 September that the current Dublin Regulation would be withdrawn and replaced by a new framework for managing asylum and migration. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)