MEPs take stock of solidarity and responsibility sharing in Europe as regards migration and asylum policy. The debate focuses on how to advance on the reform of the common EU migration and asylum rules, following the November 2022 action plan by the Commission for the Central Mediterranean route and the February extraordinary European Council.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

migration and refugees in Europe (T)

Immigration (T2)

LENAERS, Jeroen (EPP, NL)

IN 'T VELD, Sophia (Renew, NL)

GARCÍA PÉREZ, Iratxe (S&D, ES)

MARQUARDT, Erik (Greens/EFA, DE)

JOHANSSON, Ylva (SE, EC)

SOFO, Vincenzo (ECR, IT)

ROSWALL, Jessika (SE)

Deaths at sea - a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways: extracts from the debate

Title: Deaths at sea - a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways: extracts from the debate (EBS)

SOUNDBITE (English), Jessika ROSWALL, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs, Frontline member states have not only the right but also the duty to protect the European borders. This is a common responsibility and we manage, despite the considerable difficulties and challenges that we are faced with naturally in encouraging carrying out these duties. Changing Borders code codes must be applied in accordance with the European and international law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jessika ROSWALL, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs, Honourable Members, Safe and legal migration is also a central part of our comprehensive approach to migration. With almost 3,000,00 3rd country nationals migration to the EU every year. The opportunities clearly exist. These legal pathways have the potential to benefit migrants countries of origin as well as countries of destination.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, First priority. Save lives. Our alternative safe and legal pathways. Our mission to fight the smugglers who ruthlessly endanger people's lives. We must work relentlessly to bring them to justice, be always one step ahead. Fighting smuggling is central to our action plan on the Central Mediterranean. We must step up the fight as team Europe with Member States. We are building partnerships to fight smuggling supporting joint investigations between Member States and North African partners.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, We need also to give people alternatives to smugglers, boats and trucks. Legal migration for those who want to work. Our societies and economies need skilled labour. Health care alone lacks 2 million professionals today. So we are setting up an ambitious new talent pool to help people enter into the EU safely and legally.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jeroen LENAERS (EPP, NL), Most asylum seekers arriving in Europe are not in need of international protection. They will most likely continue to risk their lives to come here irregularly, regardless of the legal pathways we put in place for those who need it. At least until we change the automatism that paying a smuggler equals entry to the territory of the European Union. Changing that needs to be the core of the policy Europe finally adopts.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCIA PEREZ (S&D, ES), Instead of making progress towards coming up with a new migration and asylum pact, the right wing prefers to debate on whether to build walls at our external borders in Europe and who should pay for them. It's been shown that the worst kind of walls are the walls in the minds of the right wing.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCIA PEREZ (S&D, ES), This is a step back towards the reactionary exclusive form of Europe, a view that pretends to oppress knowledge and fosters selfishness. We need to recover the dignity of Europe and the idea of walls is a false magic sort of approach by ultra nationalists who wish to present foreigners as a threat dividing us.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), We do think that the JHA (Justice and Home Affairs) Council now has to move. Yes, we are working on the pact is very difficult, but we hope we will get there. But that is not going to solve the problem today. The people who are getting all boats today need to be helped and that is why we need sufficient and adequate rescue capacity organised by the member States and the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (German), Erik MARQUARDT (Greens/EFA), DE), If we take things seriously that the dignity of individuals is inalienable, we cannot just blame the smugglers before the bodies are buried. Always saying that other people are to blame. We need to take the core of the debate seriously. If someone is in distress at sea, let us send rescue boats and rescue these people for whatever reason they're in distress. And the fact that that doesn't happen is a shame for Europe. We should be a shame.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Vincenzo SOFO (ECR, IT), Our duty is to think about urgent solutions for uncontrollable migratory flows. These are solutions which the Commission is finally beginning to see taken up by a request to strengthen Frontex and to carry out more robust returns. That will be the upcoming reform of the Dublin Treaty as well. And that's something we'll be looking at when it comes up. We need to try and strengthen our external borders so that it's not just about redistributing those that managed to survive the trip at sea, but also to try and dissuade them from taking to the boats in the first place.