Brussels, 16 September 2015
Honourable Members, dear colleagues,
This debate is important.
It is not just another debate on reporting back from the Council.
It is mostly about sending a strong political message ahead of the Council of the 22nd of September, next week.
You, Members of Parliament, have stressed that more action at European level is needed.
This action is needed now.
And the Council next week is the opportunity to make an important step forward, all together.
I therefore urge you, to send the message of political urgency also outside of this Chamber.
To your governments, to the media, to the European Citizens.
The debate on the refuges crisis is often related with fake dangers and fears.
This is something that we all, politicians, need to address.
Let me start from where we stand:
The European Agenda on Migration represents a comprehensive approach, which equally responds to all the issues of the migratory challenge.
Because, as we have many times stressed, solidarity goes hand in hand with responsibility.
Safeguarding our citizen’s freedom of movement also requires ensuring their security by protecting our external borders.
In the same time, we need to fulfil our humanitarian obligations and respect international law, when it comes to asylum seekers.
We also need to be pragmatic and accept that we have to respond together, united, to this crisis. The second Implementing package that we have presented to you last week, serves this goal: to respond to the emergency situation in our borders by enhancing both the responsibility and the solidarity aspect.
This House has warmly supported this package in its resolution last week.
In the Council on Monday, we made some progress as well:
On most of the proposals there is broad consensus.
Member States are clearly in favour of returning persons who do not have the right to stay on our territory.
The EU Action Plan on Return outlines the short and mid-term measures to be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the EU return system.
The EU list of safe countries will alleviate the pressure on Member States’ national asylum systems.
The Commission proposals in this respect were welcomed and will be further discussed.
We will also increase the support to UNHCR for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to provide better conditions for the refugees.
The High Representative/Vice President Mogherini attended the Council meeting, showing that internal and external policies go hand in hand.
Also when it comes to the protection of our borders, all Member States agreed to use existing tools (like the RABIT) as well as to enhance them through the strengthening of the mandate of Frontex.
The first hotspots are being set up and will become operational shortly.
It is important to ensure that the most affected Member States will have our full support to register, fingerprint and manage the arrivals of thousands of persons every day.
On relocation, the Commission welcomes that the decision to relocate 40,000 persons in clear need of international protection that was adopted on Monday and can now be implemented.
I can assure you that we will work closely and with all Member States to have swift results.
Hotspots will be basis to make this approach a success. The first relocations will start immediately.
But for our proposal to relocate 120,000 additional persons from Italy, Greece and Hungary, we do not have the agreement we wanted.
There was a willingness of the majority of Member States, but not all, to move forward towards an agreement on relocating another 120,000 people.
I would like to thank the Luxembourgish Presidency for their hard work to find a compromise.
As you know, there will be another extraordinary Council meeting already next week.
We cannot fail on this.
It will be a crucial meeting and the Commission is ready to provide full support to enable decisions on the files.
The objective of the Commission is to preserve the unity of Europe.
We are in contact with all Member States.
We are ready to work with them over the coming days so that all Member States will make an extra mile to find a European solution.
I would like to underline that the European Parliament is participating fully in this process.
For the framework for the crisis relocation mechanism as well as for the list of safe countries of origin, you will be co-legislator.
For the emergency relocation mechanism, your positive opinion sends a strong political signal.
The same strong political signal that you sent today, ahead of the extraordinary JHA Council, by deciding to adopt the opinion on the relocation of 120,000 persons in fast-track procedure.
To finish, I will not hide from you that I felt disappointed and frustrated on Monday evening, even though progress was made.
It was not enough.
It is nothing compared to the magnitude of the crisis.
It is nothing compared to the moral obligation of Europe to stand up to its values and to respond to this historical call to show solidarity towards people who are fleeing war and persecution.
These people will not be stopped by any cold sea, any fence, any army.
They will just risk and find ways to cross borders in order to find a safe shelter for them and their children.
What I want to say is that the migratory pressure will not just go away if we pretend to ignore it.
Our neighbourhood is on fire. This concerns us all.
The only pragmatic and humanitarian response is an ambitious European one.
And a comprehensive one: there is no single solution to this crisis.
We need to address all issues:
-to fight the root causes,
-to support and cooperate with the neighbouring countries,
-to better protect our borders,
-to fight smugglers with all the means we have,
-to increase the reception capacities in the countries most affected
and
-to ensure solidarity when it comes to find for them a safe refuge.
It is time for each and every one to take their responsibility.
As I said yesterday and I will repeat in every occasion:
If we fail, it will not be the institutions that will fail.
It will be Europe that fails.
We shall not allow this to happen.