Opening Remarks
Honourable Members,
I would like to thank you for scheduling this debate today, on two key elements in our European Migration Agenda: the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement and our last recommendation to gradually apply the Dublin rules in Greece.
Let me first point out that while these are two important elements in our comprehensive migration approach, they are not the only ones.
Secondly: all our policies are interconnected. And the progress that we have achieved so far and that all our reports from last week demonstrate, is precisely because we have made progress on many fronts – not just one.
From relocation and resettlement, to returns, to improving reception conditions, to fighting smuggling, and continuing to cooperate with all important partner countries – all of this matters.
This is why it is so important to sustain and deepen the progress that we have made so far.
We are not where we were one year ago – but the situation remains fragile.
Now is not the moment to become complacent. Let me therefore first start by emphasizing that the EU-Turkey Statement continues to work and bear results.
Less people cross the Aegaen (around 90 persons daily), and less people have lost their lives trying to do so.
In parallel, more than 2,600 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey to the EU since the entry into force of the Statement, and this pace continues to pick up.
The main challenge is that the number of returns since September continues to be low, even if the Greek Asylum Service has doubled the number of experts working on the islands and additional experts are expected to be recruited by the end of this year.
Indeed, since the previous report in end September 2016, 170 persons who entered Greece through Turkey have been returned to Turkey in the framework of the EU-Turkey Statement, including 42 Syrians.
This brings the total number of migrants returned to Turkey, since the EU-Turkey Statement, to 777.
In total, 1,960 irregular migrants were returned from Greece to Turkey in the course of 2016 under the EU-Turkey Statement or the Greece-Turkey bilateral readmission protocol, and 95 of these were Syrians.
Further efforts and support are needed, in particular additional Member States’ experts through the European Asylum Support Office.
The processing of asylum applications needs to speed up and the number of returns of those who have no right to stay, needs to increase.
But there are more elements to the EU-Turkey Statement, and you know that both parties are fully committed to implementing and delivering on all.
The Commission has accelerated the implementation of funding through the Facility for Refugees in Turkey for humanitarian and for non-humanitarian purposes with a view to addressing the most critical needs of Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey.
These funds are now starting to have a direct impact on the ground.
On visa liberalisation, the Commission and Turkey have continued and are continuing an engaged and committed dialogue to find solutions on all outstanding benchmarks.
To conclude,the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement continues to deliver results despite challenging circumstances.
The Commission will continue to drive this work forward and will present its Fifth Report on the progress made in early March 2017.
On the recommendation on the resumption of Dublin transfer to Greece, let me begin by repeating once again that no single Member State should bear the burden of the refugee crisis alone.
No Member State in the future should be left alone to endure an unsustainable burden.
Significant progress has been achieved in Greece to put in place a fully functioning asylum system over the last months and years under very difficult circumstances.
We should all commend Greece for this, and we should continue to support Greece. Greece is also facing huge challenges in implementing the EU-Turkey Statement.
The number of asylum applications has multiplied by four during the course of this year. This is why we have recommended a gradual resumption of Dublin transfers of asylum seekers, starting as of 15 March next year, to reach a balance between the burden the country still has to face and returning Greece back in the Dublin system.
But let me be clear: the Commission did not decide to send refugees or migrants back to Greece. What we recommended to Member States is a gradual return to the application of the rules.
Greece’s progress, despite this exceptional situation, has been recognised by the fact that we propose a gradual resumption as of mid-March 2017, meaning for migrants that will enter Europe through Greece after that date only and might try to move irregularly towards other Member States.
But even then, it will concern only certain categories and it will presuppose individual guarantees for the transfer of each migrant, which Greece should be in a position to provide.
We recommend that every time a Member State wants to execute a Dublin transfer, they should only do so after having received individual assurances from the Greek authorities that each particular applicant will be received in the conditions mandated by European law.
Sending the message that rules start to apply will encourage relocation efforts by showing Member States that Greece is respecting its legal obligations to take back asylum seekers who have absconded.
Relocation will only work if other Member States do their part in picking up the pace of relocation and deploying national experts.
In addition to that, asylum seekers need to know that they cannot relocate themselves and that, if they do so, they will be sent back and cannot benefit from relocation.
It goes without saying that the Commission will constantly monitor the situation and update its recommendation if necessary.
The ultimate responsibility for resuming transfers lies of course with the Member States and their national courts.
Returning to a fully functioning Dublin system is a key element in restoring a normal functioning of the Schengen area.
As you know, secondary movements of asylum seekers from Greece have been one of the reasons for the reintroduction of internal border controls.
Resumption of transfer coupled with the fact that Greece has reinforced the control at its northern border is important to move in this direction.
In parallel we pursue, together with you, the priority of finalizing the negotiations of the reform of the Dublin system, based on a fairness mechanism which also relies on the effective carrying out of Dublin transfers.
As I said in the beginning, all these elements go hand in hand.
This is also why the Commission has also called last week on Member States to sustain the good progress in terms of relocation and to ensure at least 2,000 relocations per month from Greece, and 1,000 from Italy from this month onwards.
And the Commission is doing everything to maximally support all Member States, and in particular the frontline Member States to effectively address the immediate but also long-term challenges of migration – and turn them into opportunities.
But for all elements to go hand in hand, we need many hands.
It is absolutely critical that all actors and stakeholders, all Member States, EU agencies, civil society organisations, as well as you, honourable members, take up their fair share of the responsibility.
Our work is not over yet.
Thank you.
Closing Remarks
Honourable members,
Thank you for your interventions and for this lively debate.
The Commission is very aware of all the concerns.
When we are dealing with a refugee crisis of this scale, we cannot afford to be ideological only– we have to be pragmatic.
On Turkey, let me reiterate once again that this is an equal and mutually beneficial partnership.
EU needs Turkey but Turkey needs the EU too.
If anything has become clear this last year it is that the migratory challenges are not national or even European alone, they are global.
And the EU-Turkey Statement is producing tangible results.
But our partnership cannot be at all costs: – it has to respect all the fundamental and human rights, and it continues to do so – and all elements and benchmarks must be fulfilled.
The EU does not lower its principles.
On Dublin: I know some of you think we are not going fast enough and others think we go too fast.
Again, I repeat what I said before: all our elements go hand in hand.
But they also have to go hand in hand in an appropriate and timely manner.
No migrant will be sent back today, this week, or next.
What we recommend is that certain specific categories of migrants enter Greece after 15 March and who continue onwards to the North can be send back to Greece, if Greece is in a position and provides sufficient individual guarantees about their reception.
But from now until then, further and intensified progress is needed in Greece.
And this is precisely where additional support is needed from Member States.
We cannot accept that one or a handful of Member States shoulder the enormous responsibility of the refugee crisis.
If we are a true European Union, then one of the fundamental values on which this union is built is solidarity.
And solidarity does not come in pieces or à la carte.
Our objective is to return to overall stability in the EU: relocation, Dublin, Schengen – it is all interconnected.
But we cannot have one without the other.
Honourable members, we need your support to continue delivering and moving forward on all these issues.
Αναρωτιέμαι γιατί υπάρχει διάχυτη η παρερμηνεία της σύστασης της Επιτροπής αναφορικά με το Δουβλίνο. Διότι όπως τόνισα ήδη, όχι, δεν αρχίζουν οι επιστροφές Δουβλίνου προς την Ελλάδα.
Η σύσταση προτείνει μια σταδιακή και όχι πλήρη αποκατάσταση, και κυρίως ξεκαθαρίζεται δια παντός ότι όσοι μετανάστες βρίσκονται ή θα βρεθούν σε άλλα Κράτη Μέλη έχοντας εισέλθει μέσω Ελλάδας πριν τις 15 Μαρτίου 2017 δεν θα σταλούν πίσω στην Ελλάδα.
Θα αφορά στη πραγματικότητα μόνο σε έναν μικρό αριθμό ατόμων. Και αυτό γιατί οι έλεγχοι στα σύνορα της Ελλάδας με την Αλβανία και την ΠΓΔΜ έχουν ενισχυθεί, και πλέον δεν πραγματοποιούνται δευτερογενείς μετακινήσεις.
Επιπλέον, η Ελλάδα έχει ζητήσει την ανάπτυξη της Ευρωπαϊκής Συνοριοφυλακής και Ακτοφυλακής στην περιοχή, κάτι που βρίσκεται ήδη σε εξέλιξη. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι ήδη τώρα και σίγουρα πολύ πριν από τις 15 Μαρτίου κανένας μετανάστης δεν θα μπορεί, να φεύγει παράτυπα.
Η σύσταση είναι επομένως θετική για την Ελλάδα. Η Ελλάδα από το 2011 είναι εκτός νομιμότητας όσον αφορά στη νομοθεσία Ασύλου. Για λόγους που είχαν να κάνουν την εποχή εκείνη με παραβίαση ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων.
Αυτό δε μπορούσε να συνεχιστεί και δεν θα διευκόλυνε τις διαπραγματεύσεις για ένα δικαιότερο και αποτελεσματικότερο μηχανισμό του Δουβλίνου, που αυτή τη στιγμή αναθεωρείται βάσει δική μας πρότασης.
Με άλλα λόγια, με αυτή τη σύσταση η Ελλάδα επανέρχεται στην ευρωπαϊκή νομιμότητα. Υπάρχει κανείς που δεν θα το ήθελε αυτό στην Ελλάδα;
Η σύσταση αναγνωρίζει τη σημαντική πρόοδο που έχει πραγματοποιηθεί στην Ελλάδα για την καλύτερη και αποτελεσματικότερη λειτουργία του συστήματος ασύλου και μάλιστα κάτω από συνθήκες πρωτοφανούς πίεσης.
Μέσα σε εξαιρετικά αντίξοες συνθήκες, και βέβαια με τη σημαντική και ουσιαστική βοήθεια της Επιτροπής, των Ευρωπαϊκών Οργανισμών και των Κρατών Μελών, έχει γίνει αναμφισβήτητη πρόοδος.
Επομένως επαναλαμβάνω: H σύσταση δεν ισχύει άμεσα, αλλά από τη 15η Μαρτίου. Αποκλείονται οι επιστροφές που εκκρεμούν και δεν προβλέπονται άμεσα επιστροφές.
Ακόμα και μετά τις 15 Μαρτίου θα αφορά σε συγκεκριμένες κατηγορίες από τους ελάχιστους που θα καταφέρουν να παρακάμψουν τους ελέγχους και υπό προϋποθέσεις και με εγγυήσεις που θα πρέπει να είναι σε θέση να παρέχει η Ελλάδα για κάθε ξεχωριστό αίτημα επιστροφής –άρα με τη συνεργασία της Ελλάδας.
Γιατί συγκρίνοντας πως είχαν τα πράγματα πριν ενάμιση χρόνο, όπου δεν υπήρχε κανένας έλεγχος και αθρόα ήταν η είσοδος παράτυπων μεταναστών και κυρίως προσφύγων μέσω του Αιγαίου στην Ελλάδα.
Αν οι συνθήκες αλλάξουν, η Επιτροπή προφανώς θα αναθεωρήσει τη σύστασή της.
Και να προσθέσω ότι όλες οι άλλες εκθέσεις προόδου που παρουσίασα την ίδια ημέρα συνδέονται άμεσα μεταξύ τους. Δηλαδή, η ανάγκη επιτυχούς συνέχισης της εφαρμογής της Δήλωσης ΕΕ-Τουρκίας (μείωση αφίξεων – αύξηση επιστροφών), η σταθεροποίηση των ικανοποιητικών αριθμών των μετεγκαταστάσεων από την Ελλάδα και την Ιταλία, και η ανάγκη άμεσης αποστολής εμπειρογνωμόνων για την επιτάχυνση των διαδικασιών στο πλαίσιο τόσο της Δήλωσης όσο και της μετεγκατάστασης.
Η Δήλωση ΕΕ-Τουρκίας λειτουργεί και δεσμευόμαστε να την εφαρμόσουμε. Δεν εξετάζονται εναλλακτικές συμφωνίες.
Θέλω να δω σταθερούς αριθμούς μετεγκατάστασης. Δεν σας κρύβω ότι είμαι απογοητευμένος. Θα περίμενα πολύ πιο συνεπή ανταπόκριση από όλα τα Κράτη Μέλη. Η αλληλεγγύη δεν γίνεται à la carte και δεν υπάρχει μονάχα μπροστά στα καλά που προσφέρει η ΕΕ, αλλά και στις δύσκολες στιγμές που περνάνε τα κράτη μέλη.
Τελικά δεν είναι η οικονομική κρίση που γονατίζει την Ευρώπη αλλά η προσφυγική κρίση. Γιατί είναι αυτή που θέτει σε αμφισβήτηση τις βασικές αρχές της αλληλεγγύης και της υπευθυνότητας και δοκιμάζει την ύπαρξη της Ευρώπης.
Με τις συνεχείς δικές μας προσπάθειες, στο τέλος θα καταφέρουμε να ρίξουμε και τα τελευταία εμπόδια, να εφαρμοστεί πλήρως αυτό που σας είχα ανακοινώσει ένα χρόνο πριν, και να φθάσουμε τους αριθμούς που είχαμε θέσει ως στόχο.
Δεν θα είναι εύκολος αυτός ο δρόμος και θα χρειαστώ, όπως και τα δυο τελευταία χρόνια, τη στήριξη του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου απέναντι στο οποίο θα ήθελα να εκφράσω την ευγνωμοσύνη μου γιατί όλα αυτά που έχουμε καταφέρει οφείλονται στο γεγονός ότι είχα από την πρώτη στιγμή την πλήρη στήριξη των δημοκρατικών και προοδευτικών δυνάμεών του.