EU-wide distribution of refugees and migrants
JHA Council
At their meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, 8 October), EU interior ministers will discuss the initiative of Germany, France, Italy and Malta for an EU-wide distribution of refugees and migrants. Magid Magid, member of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, calls for an EU-wide distribution key, a European sea rescue mission and the decriminalisation of private sea rescue:
"Finally there is a step in the right direction but more must be done. The agreement of the interior ministers can help to put an end to the inhumane port blockades for rescued refugees. The political game on the back of refugees must come to an end. To prevent the European Union from being further divided in its asylum policy, Greece and Spain must not be left alone either. We need a fair EU-wide distribution key.
A distribution quota alone will not save people from drowning. NGOs engaging in rescue at sea are still being criminalised and their ships are being seized in Malta and Italy. It is a farce that private rescuers have to save people from drowning because governments are not doing their job. But instead of finally pushing ahead with a European sea rescue mission, the EU is financing militias in Libya that are themselves a cause of flight. This has nothing to do with European values."
