Migrant tragedy: Shambolic EU migration system leads to human tragedy in the Mediterranean
Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament urge the Foreign Affairs Council, meeting today in Luxembourg, to take immediate action on the shambolic EU migration system that has led to the worst human tragedy in the Mediterranean in the last 20 years. The ALDE Group calls on Member States to address irregular entry in the EU with safe and legal routes and a European approach to asylum.
Cecilia Wikstrom (FP, Sweden), ALDE coordinator of the LIBE committee, added: ” It’s disgraceful for some Member States to argue that saving lives at sea somehow amounts to a “pull factor “and we should therefore passively watch while thousands drown. We are just four months into the year of 2015 and nearly 2,000 people are estimated to have already drowned in the Mediterranean on their way to apply for refuge in Europe. Last year’s appalling record figure of around 3,500 dead is in danger of being vastly exceeded.
Europe has both the resources and the responsibility to prevent more people from losing their lives in the Mediterranean. By creating legal and safe ways for refugees to come here in order to seek asylum, for example by issuing humanitarian visas in embassies and consulates, we can prevent vulnerable people from being exploited by unscrupulous human traffickers. We must act now, before the Mediterranean turns into a sea of death.”
Speaking after the new arrival today of 98 immigrants to Sicily, Guy Verhofstadt, President of the ALDE group, said: “We deplore the latest events in the Mediterranean. This horrendous situation is a logical consequence of what the EU has done in the last year to improve its migration policy, which is nothing. More than 3.000 migrants died when trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean last year and what we heard at that time was: this cannot happen again. What has changed since then? Both the European Commission and the Council need to stop saying how sorry they are after each new tragedy takes place and start taking decisions. Member States cannot tackle irregular migration on their own. The EU needs a new and urgent European approach that is currently non-existent. Responsibility sharing between Member States is key.
“Irregular immigration can only be addressed by offering safe and legal entry possibilities and this can only be achieved with a completely new European policy. FRONTEX cannot tackle the arrival of irregular migrants, as it is only a European border management agency with a poor budget. FRONTEX needs to be reviewed to ensure more contributions from all Member States, but what it is vital now is to improve rescue operations at sea, whose competences need to be addressed at European level. A new EU asylum and migration system needs to be put into place now. It is not only about providing legal and safe routes to the EU, but also about designing a long-term approach that ensures security for migrants, speedy and fair asylum procedure as well as proper return and readmission mechanisms. It must clearly also deal with the root causes that push people to leave their home countries – such as poverty and civil wars. Turning our backs to situations like in Syria as we have done for years will only lead to more disasters. We know how to solve this crisis; the only thing we are lacking is the necessary political will.”
