Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-04-Speech-1-212-000"
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"en.20110404.19.1-212-000"2
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"Madam President, this is indeed a challenging situation. North Africa is, of course, facing a challenge. The people there are now trying, especially in Tunisia and Egypt, to build new countries – democratic countries where there is respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law. They are preparing for elections later this summer. We should do everything to support them in this fantastic journey.
These people are indeed a European challenge. They will probably need shelter. We have certain funds. We have certain agencies. We have certain policies to try to assist these people. As I said, we are considering the possibility of using the temporary protection mechanism. This can be activated when there is a mass influx of people who are unable to return. But for this to be activated, it needs a qualified majority in the Council. Today, that majority does not exist. We are, of course, monitoring this very closely and we will bring it back to the Council next week. But before we activate this mechanism, I am calling – and I will continue to call – on Member States to put solidarity into action: not only to come out with beautiful words, but to act.
We need to find solutions to assist Italy and Malta and possibly other countries who will be under pressure. I urge Member States to do this. There are solidarity funds available for European countries who respond to this appeal. This will all be discussed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council next week. I will be happy to report back to you after that.
Thank you very much, Madam President, for a very important debate.
The Commission is, as you know, preparing a revised strategy for the neighbourhood and it will be presented to the Council. It will contain support for democracy, support for economic development, growth and job opportunities, and there will also be an element of mobility. This is a challenge for which we should provide our support.
We also have a challenge in Libya, where the increased violence is creating a very insecure situation and forcing many people to flee. It is a challenge for European migration policy. In the long term, we need to develop a more global approach to this, very much in line with Mr Provera’s report, the input of which will be taken into account.
In the short term, we, of course, need to conclude the asylum package. Believe me, Mrs Keller, we are trying to do that. With the help of the European Parliament and the efforts of the different rapporteurs to get the package together and conclude the negotiation with the Parliament, I still hope that we can finalise this before the end of the year.
There is a challenging facing Lampedusa and Malta. I would like to reject some allegations that the Commission, or ‘Brussels’, has not been engaged in helping Italy. We have, in fact, offered assistance to Italy. For the remaining period under the current long-term budget, there is EUR 171 million in the national envelope for Italy. Some of that money has not yet been used for Italy, and we have been working with the Italian authorities on an almost daily basis to see how programme financing can be reallocated so that it can be used to address the situation in Lampedusa.
We have also offered Italy assistance to reimburse some of the costs of internal transfers of migrants. We have the Frontex Hermes operation, but I would like to remind you that Frontex depends on the contribution of the Member States, and that will be running out in a very short time. We have the answer: we have Europol in place. We are engaged in talks with Tunisia to seek a solution on an organised, dignified, voluntary return of those people who are not in need of international protection. We are helping Tunisia to fight the trafficking networks and seeing how we can assist it in building up border control. This is part of a larger mobility partnership.
Most of the refugees are in Tunisia and Egypt. As I said, more than 400 000 people have left Libya. Most of these people have been repatriated. They are mainly Tunisians and Egyptians, but they also come from about 30 different countries, mainly in Africa. There are also people from Bangladesh, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
Most of these people have been repatriated through European assistance, with the Member States working in a true spirit of solidarity with Tunisia and Egypt. But there are some people remaining. I visited these refugee camps only a few days ago. The Tunisians are doing impressive work together with international organisations, such as the UNHCR. But there are a few people there, a few thousand, who are stranded. They cannot return home. We need to assist these people. They need to be resettled in Europe. It is very difficult for me to explain to these Somalis that you cannot come to Europe because we have not agreed on delegated or implemented acts. So please, I urge you and the Council to come to an agreement on this, because we could really fulfil the aim of the European resettlement programme and help those people, because they have nowhere to go.
We are also seeing refugees coming to Europe now – to Lampedusa and to Malta. I realise that Malta, of course, with the size of the island, is under enormous pressure. We might see more people coming. Many of these people might be in need of international protection. As long as the violence goes on in Libya, the risk of more people having to flee will increase."@en1
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