Refugees
Commission plan to return refugees to Greece not credible
The European Commission has announced its intention to gradually resume the transfer of refugees to Greece under the Dublin system.
Commenting on the announcement, Greens/EFA migration policy spokesperson, Ska Keller said:
"With the EU having so far met only 5% of its target for relocating refugees from Greece and Italy, it is simply not credible for the Commission to pretend that things are on track and we can begin returning to business as usual. Member States have in effect been boycotting the relocation of refugees. Camps are overcrowded, yet still not one Member State has even come close to meetings its commitments.
"The continued failure to meet obligations to relocate refugees seriously undermines European solidarity and diminishes our chance of solving the refugee crisis anytime soon. Rather than resuming transfers to Greece, which is still under severe pressure, our focus must instead be on ensuring Member States fulfil their existing commitments.
"We need an urgent change of the Dublin system. The current system means that Greece and Italy have to deal with huge numbers of refugee applications. What we need instead is a fair distribution scheme that also takes into account the needs of the refugees themselves. The EU must also rapidly increase the safe channels for refugees to come to Europe."
The European Parliament backed a report from Ska Keller in September, calling on Member States to fulfil their existing commitments. See here for more details.
