The Civil Liberties Committee votes on four key legislative proposals of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. MEPs vote on their negotiation mandates for the following legislative proposals: Screening regulation, rapporteur Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Asylum and migration management regulation, rapporteur Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Crisis and force majeure regulation, rapporteur Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES) and Asylum procedure regulation - update of an existing mandate, rapporteur Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR).

Brussels

vote

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

migration and refugees in Europe (T)

press conference

LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Juan Fernando (S&D, ES)

SIPPEL, Birgit (S&D, DE)

KELLER, Fabienne (Renew, FR)

TOBÉ, Tomas (EPP, SE)

Pact on migration and asylum: extracts from the vote and from the press conference - LIBE Committee

Title:  Pact on migration and asylum: extracts from the vote and from the press conference - LIBE Committee 

Tomas TOB&Eacute; (EPP, SE), Chair of DEVE Committee (2 shots)

Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur of the Asylum Procedure Regulation

Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), Rapporteur on the Screening Regulation,

Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), LIBE Committee Chair,

Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), LIBE Committee Chair, announces the final vote on the Screening Regulation (3 shots)

Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), LIBE Committee Chair, announces the final vote on the Asylum Procedure Regulation (4 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), LIBE Committee Chair, I really want to appreciete all the work that lies behind us. Wow. I has been quite a couple of years of round of negotiations and finally we have a compromise, we are somehow making a piece of history here with this Migration and Asylum pact. I thank you all.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOB&Eacute; (SE, EPP), DEVE Committee Chair, I think today the European Parliament took full responsibility to move forward, showing an ability to also find common ground. I think all our political groups have made compromises knowing how important that is that we now have a strong position from the European Parliament in the upcoming negotiations with the Council. The main purpose of the file that I've been working on, the Asylum and Migration Management regulation, is to reinforce mutual trust between Member States. This is vital to the success of a joint European response. We have now voted in favour of a legal framework that achieve a fair balance between solidarity and responsibility. But this regulation will establish a mechanism that provides true solidarity, but also allows flexible and voluntary contributions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), LIBE Committee Chair, We need some special kind of an answer and that special kind of an answer number one tool is mandatory relocation. Mandatory relocation programs. We have worked real hard to give it a sound legal basis, mandatory relocation programs. Then the second tool is the so-called prima facie approach. That means that certain categories of people, because of the country where they come from, because of a certain part of the country they come from, not in the overall territory of the country, but a certain region which is extremely challenging or defying or dangerous for their personal integrity. Then they are to be given as to this country of origin or their to a particular vulnerable group, prima facie recognition.

SOUNDBITE (English), Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), Rapporteur on the Screening Regulation, Talking about screening, first of all as a principle, this is not creating something totally new. All the checks that are now in the screening, yes, they are very concrete prescribed, but in general, those checks are already possible at our external borders today. So they are more precisely described, but still they remain an instrument to be used at our external borders. I am also happy that as a matter of principle, we keep the legal fiction combine with the border procedure in EPR is an option for member states. But it should also be very clear that if a member State decides to use the border procedure, then this definitely will mean that they have to use the legal fiction of non entry, meaning a person is on the ground of European Union but is legally seen as not yet having entered European Union.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER, Rapporteur of the Asylum Procedure Regulation, I'm very happy that we did find common ground and we adopt a number of different amendments. The procedures are more harmonised, they're more effective across the European Union. So after the screening, those who are requesting asylum need to be dealt with in the same way in all 27 countries with the same guarantees. That's the point of this text. Now, the procedures at the border has been revised to make sure that there is a quick evaluation of requests for asylum for individuals who are unlikely to be declared to be refugees.