EP committee agrees on changes to Dublin Regulation on immigration
Calls for binding burden-sharing arrangements
The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament today unanimously voted in favour of suspending the EU’s Dublin Regulation in the case of countries which are facing disproportionate migratory pressure. It also voted in favour of setting up of a legally binding burden-sharing mechanism enabling the reallocation of immigrants among EU countries.
Amendments intended to establish a legally binding burden-sharing mechanism were tabled by a number of MEPs, including MEP Simon Busuttil.
The Dublin Regulation places responsibility for immigrants on the EU country which they first enter, even if they move to other countries. Malta had long called for a change in these rules and amendments were formally proposed by the European Commission last December.
The Commission proposed to suspend the Dublin rules on EU countries, such as Malta, which face a disproportionate burden as a result of their geographic and demographic situation.
In its vote today, the Civil Liberties Committee adopted this proposal unanimously and went further by calling on the Commission to put in place a legally binding burden-sharing instrument by the end of 2011 to enable the reallocation of migrants among EU countries.
The committee said in a resolution that it was essential to propose legally binding instruments to ensure greater solidarity between member states through the resettlement of the beneficiaries of international protection in other member sates.
Dr Busuttil said that the European Parliament had delivered an important message of solidarity to Malta and had laid the founding stone for a binding burden-sharing mechanism.
“This is a huge victory for Malta. Last October, EU countries accepted burden-sharing in principle, albeit on a voluntary basis. Today we have obtained the European Parliament’s backing to take it one step further by making this instrument legally binding.” he said.
The final vote will be submitted to the plenary session of the European Parliament that will be held in Strasbourg next week.