Deaths on the Mediterranean must shake EU ministers into action
Home Affairs Council
Ahead of tomorrow's meeting of EU Home Affairs ministers, the Greens/EFA group is calling for progress on reforms to the Dublin system, which determines which Member State is responsible for an asylum claim.
The European Parliament agreed its position back in October but there has been no progress at Council level. Jean Lambert MEP is the Greens/EFA shadow rapporteur. She comments:
"The recent deaths on the Mediterranean must shake EU ministers into action. The EU cannot continue to stand idle in the face of such appalling loss of life.
"In failing to show solidarity with their neighbours, European governments are not just turning a blind eye to tragedy - their inaction has grave political consequences.
“As long as they block a more even distribution of migrants, they fuel the narrative of right wing populists and gift them an argument for attacking the EU – as the recent Italian elections have shown.
"We can only take on and beat the far right if we have better answers to the pressures facing European citizens. The European Parliament has already set out ambitious reforms to the Dublin system, which would ease the disproportionate pressure piled on a few Member States. The European Union's governments need to show front-line countries such as Italy, Greece and others that they are prepared to work together to make this happen.”
