GUE/NGL President, Gabriele Zimmer, commented on the Commission's proposal, expressing concern over whether member states will cooperate: “The Commission finally acknowledges that the Dublin system is not working and among its proposals, suggests a fair distribution scheme refugees inside the EU in order to help countries with EU external borders. This is urgently needed.”

“However, how the Commission plans to convince all member state governments remains a mystery. The current voluntary distribution scheme is totally ignored by leaders such as Victor Orbán who prefers to stir up dissent against refugees than to provide them with international protection. This will be Commission's biggest challenge: it has to ask the ones who break the rules how to reinforce them.”

Zimmer also criticises the Commission's plans to continue pursuing close cooperation with third countries in the management of migration: “Turkey is not a 'safe third country' as it bombs its own population. It is a shame that the Commission wants to outsource the EU´s responsibility further by extending this concept to more third countries.”

“The EU must provide relief for Greece and safe and legal pathways into the EU for people in danger.”

GUE/NGL Coordinator on the LIBE Committee, Cornelia Ernst, adds: “Once again, the Commission is stubbornly continuing with its failed 'Fortress Europe' approach to refugees. The Commission's proposals, beyond the weak reform of the Dublin system, are an outrage as they are lowering the asylum standards that the European Parliament adopted during the last legislature with the intention of deterring people in need of protection from coming here.”                                                                           

“Instead, what we urgently need is a binding mechanism for the redistribution of asylum seekers which is based on their needs and desires as well as dignified asylum standards and safe and legal pathways. In short, we need more freedom and less repression,” concludes Ernst.

 

GUE/NGL Press Contact:

Nikki Sullings  +32 22 83 27 60 / +32 483 03 55 75

Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20