Diana Riba MEP Calls for End to Outsourcing Migration Responsibilities and Urges for Human Rights-Based Policy
EFA Group President Diana Riba i Giner delivered a powerful speech today, addressing the recent endorsement by Ursula von der Leyen of Giorgia Meloni’s proposal to relocate migrants to Albania, as well as the European Union's continued reliance on external countries, such as Turkey and Morocco, to manage its border controls. MEP Riba criticised this approach, calling it a repeated mistake showing the EU failed to learn from past errors.
"They stumble over the same stone time and again and do not learn the lesson. This Parliament has repeatedly denounced the blackmail the European Union suffers from countries like Turkey or Morocco, which you have decided to turn into our border guards," Riba stated.
The Catalan MEP also drew attention to the recent political manoeuvres by Morocco, which used vulnerable migrants to put pressure on Spain. "We have witnessed in a very harsh way how the Moroccan government turned thousands of human beings into political weapons and pushed them against the borders of Ceuta and Melilla to put pressure on the government of Pedro Sánchez. And it works! Not only do they get millions of euros from European funds, but they also achieve political gains: today, Spain recognises Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara."
MEP Riba expressed deep concern over European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s endorsement of Prime Minister Meloni’s proposal to establish return centres in Albania. "What worries me most is that President Von der Leyen herself has backed Meloni’s idea of creating return centres in Albania as an 'innovative and creative way of thinking,' when it is the same recipe doomed to failure: outsourcing our responsibilities regarding migration and asylum."
Diana Riba i Giner, EFA Group President, urged her fellow MEPs to work towards a unified migration policy rooted in justice and human rights. "I believe that if we are able to reach agreements with democrats like Mohamed VI or Erdogan, we can reach agreements among ourselves to establish an effective, fair migration policy based on human rights."
