Plenary quiz the Czech Presidency and the Commission about guaranteeing solidarity and burden sharing in the management of migration flows into Europe. Opening statements by Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs and by Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of promoting our European Way of Life. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

asylum procedures in the EU (T)

SCHINAS, Margaritis (EPP-DE, EL)

BEK, Mikuláš (CZ)

Key debate - The need for a European solution on asylum and migration including search and rescue: opening statements by Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs and by Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikul&aacute;&scaron; BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, Well, Mr. President, honourable members, Commissioners, the Minister Roswall. Let me begin by stressing that any loss of life on the irregular migration routes to Europe is not acceptable. Recent developments in the Central Mediterranean has brought this issue again to the forefront. Providing assistance to people in distress at sea is a humanitarian imperative and a duty of all states and shipmasters under international law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, It is crucial that all actors respect applicable international and European rules and that the nearest safe port for disembarkation is provided without delay. They are putting all our efforts in implementing the Solidarity Declaration agreed upon in June. This mechanism was designed precisely to relieve the pressure on the frontline member states. While it has taken some time to get the mechanism up and running, we are confident that further progress can be made soon.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, It is also important to underline in this context that the increased number of arrivals, whether by sea or land, affect our reception and asylum systems and we need to address them jointly. Reception and asylum systems in many member states are already stretched to the maximum as a consequence of the almost 4 million persons that have fled Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, Given the above and increasing migratory pressure on all EU Member States, the Presidency has decided to organise an extraordinary meeting of the Home Affairs Ministers that will be held on the 25th of November. The ministers will discuss the situation along all migratory routes and the joint way forward. We also look forward to the discussion on the Commission's action plan presented this week, which proposes concrete measures to be taken to accelerate the union's collective work along the Central Mediterranean route.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, Besides the short term, urgent actions which the ministers will discuss on Friday, we also need to continue focussing on a long term solution, providing a robust and well-functioning EU asylum and migration policy to be agreed and implemented by all Member States. The Pact on Migration and Asylum is the European solution to these challenges. Therefore, we need to continue our legislative work, which we have advance under our Presidency.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, The agreement on the roadmap that was signed with the Parliament is an important step in this direction. It is a clear demonstration of the political willingness of both co-legislators to work on all asylum files with a view to the adoption at the latest by the end of the term of this Parliament. We look forward to starting negotiations with the European Parliament on the Eurodac and on the screening regulations and to resume work on other asylum files.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, Discussions on the solidarity concept developed since the beginning of our presidency will continue until the December Justice and Home Affairs Council and should then be quickly pursued in the form of legislative work on the asylum and migration management regulation and the crisis regulation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Mikuláš BEK, Czech Minister for European Affairs, We will also continue to support and work with all our partners in third countries of origin and departure to build the capacities to ensure prevention of irregular migration and disruption of smugglers networks and all. That sustainable migration management in a safe and orderly manner and in accordance with fundamental rights. Thank you very much for your attention.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Thank you, Mr. President. Honourable Members. In recent weeks, of course, the spotlight has been on the central Mediterranean route, where over 90,000 migrants and refugees arrived only this year. These were departures mainly from Libya and Tunisia, and but they were originating primarily from Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, The increase on the Central Med road was over 50% compared to last year, and most of these arrivals reached the European Union after hazardous journeys. Search and rescue operations at sea under difficult conditions. At the same time, other routes such as the Turkish Eastern Mediterranean route and the Western Mediterranean Atlantic route also continue to face ongoing pressure.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, And in particular the Western Balkans route, which has seen a dramatic increase in numbers this year. And only yesterday, 500 people were rescued from a small fishing boat near Crete by the combined operation of a Greek navy frigate, coast Guard ships of the Atlantic, Coast Guard, a tanker, two cargo ships and two Italian fishing boats, all working together.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Honourable members, all this shows that there will always be challenges and why our responses must not be ad hoc. We cannot continue working, event by event, crisis by crisis, ship by ship. Time has an outcome for a sustainable, comprehensive, holistic European asylum and migration framework.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Since two years, since September 2020, with my colleague Commissioner Johansson, we have put on the table a comprehensive set of proposal that provides a response to these challenges. The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. And it is ironic that we have everything we need at our fingertips, but just seemingly out of reach. It is like having a parachute but choosing to jump out of the plane without it.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, It is the pact that will improve our Member States ability to manage migration on a system based on EU law and the community method. And if we have learnt anything in these recent years and this succession of crises is that flying solo is not an option. We now need a European agreement on the pact.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, This is therefore, this debate is a great occasion to renew our calls on Parliament as well on council to advance on the roadmap towards the adoption of all the pending proposals of the Pact. Starting most urgently with the qualifications and Resettlement Framework Regulations and Reception Conditions Directive, where we already have political compromises, as well as the screening and Eurodac proposals, where we already have council mandates and where trialogues should now begin at earnest.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, But in the meantime, we cannot afford to wait to address the difficult situation at sea. Assistance to people in distress at sea is a legal obligation for EU member states under international and EU law. Regardless of how people ended in that situation. Everybody needs to work together on a common response with saving lives being priority number one. This Monday, we proposed an action plan with 20 specific actions to address the immediate challenges in the Central Mediterranean.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, First of all, we need to work with partner countries and international organisations who will never be able to sustain an EU migration policy in isolation. We will support Tunisia, Egypt and Libya to ensure better border management and migration management. We will boost the fight against migrant smuggling. Step up our diplomatic engagement on returns and improve legal pathways to the EU.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, We will maximise the impact of all these actions by launching a Team Europe initiative before the end of this year. Other than working with partners, we also need a more coordinated approach on search and rescue, with stronger cooperation between our member states and all actors involved. Precisely in our fact, we have put in place a European contact group on search and rescue. Let's use it.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, We also ask Frontex to assess the situation and to see whether we need to devote more resources and assets of community level. And we will keep working closely with UNHCR on potential regional approaches. At the same time promoting discussions with International Maritime Organisation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Last, but in this chapter, certainly not least. We need to make full use of the voluntary solidarity mechanism that we agreed under the French presidency. We agreed a solidarity declaration in June. That was a big success of our friends. Friends and thousands of relocation places are already available.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Of course this is a temporary mechanism, but it is also possible bridge to the future permanent system grounded on EU law that we want to see under the pact. Frankly, we do not need to reinvent the wheel here. We have the tools. Member States have to use them. The Commission will continue to fully support.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, Honourable members, history does not repeat itself often, but it often rhymes. We have to learn the lessons of the past when it comes to migration. We had first to enact immediate operational and practical measures to address the situation along all migratory routes. And the extraordinary Home Affairs Council on Friday will allow Member States to achieve faster results. However, it will not remove the need for long term binding solutions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, We are in much stronger position now to cope with migration challenges than in 2015-2016. We have a strong European Border and Coast Guard and a fully functioning asylum agency. We have resources. We have instruments. And we have the political will. And we cannot wait any longer to keep ourselves with a futureproof migration framework. This is not a debate about one ship, one route or one part of the sea.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margaritis SCHINAS, Vice-President of the European Commission, It is a debate about our ability as Europeans to manage migration in a spirit of trust and solidarity. We will inform the ministers on Friday of the latest developments, and we will give them the necessary tools for solutions, and we will call on them like we call on you today to secure an agreement on the pact. Action Plans. Emergency meetings. Emergency debates are useful, but not sufficient. When we have the permanent solutions, the solutions are here in our fingertips. We can do it. And we shall do it. Thank you.