Brussels, 12/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - This Tuesday, the EP will discuss in plenary the report by Jan-Kees Wiebenga (Liberal, Dutch) on the draft Directive concerning the granting of temporary protection in the case a massive influx of displaced persons and measures trying to ensure a balance between the efforts agreed by the States to welcome these people.
Following the introduction of amendments, the parliamentary Committee in particular hopes that: 1) all Council decisions aimed at providing such temporary protection maintain the balance between Member States, taking account of their capacity to take in people; 2) States provide detailed assessment of their possibilities for hosting; 3) the redistribution of displaced person take account of individual needs, such as family ties in a given Member State. Regarding residence permits, the MEPs believe that they must be granted immediately and cover the duration o the temporary protection. Finally, they place importance on Member States implementing the directive on temporary protection taking account of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Geneva Convention and the principle of not turning people back, demanding that "Member States do the impossible to examine requests for asylum during the period of temporary protection, which may not exceed two months from the submission of the request". Finally, the MEPs call for the request for asylum to be examined by the host country, and not by the first port of entry Member States, as stipulated by the Dublin Convention.