Presidente,
Dear President Tusk,
Dear members,
Dear colleagues,
Thank you for your interventions in this important debate.
The next time it would be good next to President Tusk to have 27 leaders to listen and discuss with you. I am sure they would come out of this room wiser.
The glass is half full, yes, but the bottle is full of European ideas and solutions.
Instead of looking at the glass, look at the bottle and at its content. And a bottle is there to be shared.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is definitely a question of political will. Only if the will is there we shall reach solutions.
We need European vision and realism, we need leadership to reach future-proof answers to all of them.
We cannot operate in crisis mode on migration anymore.
As regards Greece, it is the beginning of a new era, an era of responsibility where the completion and the continued implementation of the reforms will be key.
Greek citizens need to see in their everyday life that the crisis is over and that the Commission is and will keep supporting them.
Now, we need to adopt measures that will help us to collectively prevent crises from happening and ensure a sustainable policy framework.
Let me focus on migration, which, together with security, is one of the key preoccupations of our citizens, as recent surveys showed.
Many of your interventions indeed reflect the concerns, questions, and convictions of our citizens too.
Here is what I see as the essence of the European Council last week:
European leaders confirmed their commitment to a comprehensive approach to migration. For me the most difficult task was the one of Mr Tusk for bringing together all leaders. It remains to be supported with concrete actions.
They reaffirmed that no country should be managing this alone, and that we can only move forward with a joint and European approach – both inside and outside Europe, and naturally at our external borders.
This is precisely the approach which has been adopted by our Commission since the very beginning.
And it is this approach that has delivered results – no other. And of course thanks to the support of this Parliament.
Indeed, we have managed to significantly reduce the irregular arrivals towards the European Union. We are not where we were three years ago.
Based on these positive results, we now need to further address the structural challenges where they really are.
We cannot forget the big picture. And we can never lose our humanity.
Over the past few days, many shipwrecks occurred close to the Libyan Coast and hundreds of people have lost their lives.
I understand that you are outraged by these events.
I am outraged too and that motivates me to keep going and not deviate from our values and principles.
We can never turn a blind eye to the situation on the other side of the Mediterranean.
The outcome of the European Council builds on what we have achieved so far and gives us the operational and practical guidance to continue.
We are already working on their implementation because the tragic events in the Mediterranean show once again that there is no time to lose.
We do not start from scratch and we do not leave anyone alone.
The EU-Turkey Statement has been key to fight smuggling in the Easter Mediterranean and reduce the irregular arrivals to Europe.
We remain committed to uphold it, also by delivering the second tranche of the 3 billion for the protection of refugees hosted by Turkey.
More than 600,000 lives have been saved, thanks also to the support of the European Border and Coast Guard.
More than 1300 have been evacuated from Libya to Niger.
More than 15 000 have been returned voluntarily from Niger or Libya to their country of origin.
The Libyan coast guard are rescuing an increasing number of migrants.
Thousands of migrants in Libya are receiving access to medical help and other services thanks to IOM and UNHCR, which we support financially.
On top of this, another 500 million EUR will be transferred to the EU trust fund for Africa to ensure that our many actions to address the root causes of irregular migration will continue.
We count on Member States to also pitch in significant financial contributions.
It is clear that we have to further engage with countries in Africa.
To further strengthen our external borders, we will soon present a proposal to beef up the European Border and Coast Guard even more and transform it into a genuine EU border police.
But an effective and fair migration policy is not and cannot be just about borders.
As the President said, the reform of the Common European Asylum is equally essential.
It is necessary not only to ensure solidarity among Member States but also to effectively reduce secondary movements within the EU.
We are so close. I frankly see no defendable reason for delays.
The 5 pieces of legislation – on asylum qualifications and reception conditions, on Eurodac, on resettlement, and on our asylum agency – should be adopted before the end of this month.
And then, I plead once again with Member States to move towards finding an agreement on Dublin and asylum procedures before the end of the year.
Dear members,
It will be one of the most important legacies that EU institutions and European Parliament leave behind.
the facts and reality tell us we are no longer in a migration crisis. The crisis we are confronted with is purely political.
I call on everyone to not protract this political crisis any longer and get down to business.
I'm looking forward to working with you, as I have been doing for the past three years and the upcoming Austrian Presidency to swiftly make progress on all these aspects.
The Informal Justice and Home affairs next week In Innsbruck will be the first opportunity.
Κ. Χατζηγεωργίου,
Συμμερίζομαι την ανησυχία σας, είναι και δική μας.
Η πρόκληση της μετανάστευσης, στην ουσία, δοκιμάζει την ίδια τη συνοχή μας και η απάντησή μας σε αυτή θα καθορίσει το κοινό μας μέλλον.
Πολλοί πίστευαν πως θα ήταν η οικονομική κρίση η οποία θα έθετε σε αμφισβήτηση το μέλλον της Ευρώπης.
Τελικά, είναι η διαχείριση της μεταναστευτικής κρίσης γιατί αγγίζει απευθείας και στην καρδιά τις αρχές και τις αξίες επάνω στις οποίες έχει χτιστεί το Ευρωπαϊκό οικοδόμημα.
Εμείς, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, από την αρχή έχουμε αναλάβει τις ευθύνες που μας αναλογούν και έχουμε καταθέσει μια ολοκληρωμένη πρόταση για την Ευρωπαϊκή μεταναστευτική πολιτική.
Θυμηθείτε που ήμασταν πριν από τρία χρόνια και που είμαστε τώρα.
Ας συνεχίσουμε επάνω στις ίδιες γραμμές.
Και οφείλω να τονίσω, για μια ακόμα φορά, ότι το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο έχει στηρίξει αυτή την πολιτική και εργάζεται προς την κατεύθυνση της ολοκλήρωσής της.
Οι κοινές αυτές προσπάθειες, όμως, δεν επαρκούν.
Εναπόκειται πλέον όχι τόσο στα Κράτη Μέλη, συνήθως αναφέρομαι στις Κυβερνήσεις των Κρατών Μελών, θυμίζοντας ότι οι Κυβερνήσεις έρχονται και απέρχονται, τα Κράτη θα είναι εκεί. Θα πρέπει πάντα να θυμούνται οι σημερινές κυβερνήσεις ότι ήταν ιστορική η απόφαση των προηγούμενων ηγεσιών να περάσουν το κατώφλι της Ευρωπαϊκής οικογένειας.
Εναπόκειται, λοιπόν, στις Κυβερνήσεις των Κρατών Μελών, να αναλάβουν τις δικές τους ευθύνες τους.
Να ξεκαθαρίσουν πώς αντιλαμβάνονται το ρόλο τους και τη θέση τους μέσα στην Ευρωπαϊκή Οικογένεια.
Η κοινή μας ευθύνη είναι μεγάλη. Και θα έλεγα ότι κάτω από τη σημερινή συγκυρία είναι και ιστορική.
Και από την απάντησή μας στην πρόκληση της μετανάστευσης θα κριθούμε από τις μελλοντικές γενεές, γιατί αυτή θα καθορίσει, τελικά, τη συνοχή και την ενότητά μας.
Dear colleagues,
The migration challenge is putting in question our principles and values.
It is however only by upholding them that we can move ahead stronger and united.
We will all be judged by the way we respond to it. These values are the way for responsible and effective decisions to move ahead.
We need leadership, vision but also frank and brave discussions among us. This Commission and this Parliament are showing the way by agreeing on a comprehensive migration policy.
I expect that the governments of the Member States will also take their responsibilities.
