The best way to fight human traffickers was to create legal channels for refugees, European Commission vice-president Federica Mogherini said today during a debate on migration and human rights.

The debate, between MEPs, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and the European Commission, includes the participation of members of the Parliaments of Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.

Aylan Kurdi's aunt is also present. Aylan is the three-year-old Syrian boy whose image made global headlines after he drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Syrian refugee crisis.

Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos described the situation as "an opportunity to revive the European dream, a dream based on the principles of solidarity…. The world is watching us and expecting us to move ahead in a bold way and deliver… It is time for everyone to take their responsibilities.”

MEP Roberta Metsola said it was important not to lose sight of what was at stake here, "people escaping horror needing refuge".

"The Europe that we know would not turn its back… rather than let this crisis expose the fragility of our union we must stand up to the situation and show the world what we can do," she said.

Commissioner Mogherini said that the European Union’s unity or lack of it had an impact on the bloc’s credibility and effectiveness of its actions.

Besides being a European crisis, she said, this was also a regional one currently affecting the Germany/Hungary area as it had affected other regions, including the Mediterranean, in recent years.

These countries that faced the problem in the recent past were now telling the EU “you just woke up because you are facing today what we have been facing”.

Commissioner Mogherini noted that flows were mixed and not all arrivals were purely refugees or purely migrants. This gave the Commission responsibilities from a legal, political and moral point of view.

“Our actions have to be substantial, consistent and coherent.

“We have to act in full respect of international law. It is dangerous not to do so – we have a legal and moral obligation…”

The best way to fight traffickers, she said, was to create legal channels.

“That is pure fact. At the same time we have to increase fights against criminal organisations exploiting people’s desperation...

“It’s not about bombing the boats, but about arresting the traffickers who usually travel in separate boats and seizing their boats… People are ready to face the risk of dying with their children – the idea that this can be stopped with a wall or a fence is an illusion,” she said.

Ms Mogherini added that poverty and war, which were the cause of this situation, needed to be handled as well.

Civil Liberties Committee chairman Claude Moraes earlier pointed out that if member states had worked hard on creating the right structures, there would not be the problems there were today.

He said that if no political agreement on the number of refugees each state should take was reached, the Union would lose credibility.

The correct decisions, he said, should not focus on the short term but on the medium and long term.

Opportunity to revive European dream - Dimitris Avramopoulos

Commissioner Avramopoulos said the problem was not about money and figures, but human dignity and respect for others, principles on which Europe had built its dream.

"This will define our past as Europeans… a test of our values.”

Commissioner Avramopoulos said he was very disappointed yesterday as he expected more support from member states.

Although the majority were helpful, some countries were thinking in a national rather than a European way.

“But the Commission is determined and we will move ahead…

“This is an opportunity to revive the European dream, a dream based on the principles of solidarity…. The world is watching us and expecting us to move ahead in a bold way and deliver… It is time for everyone to take their responsibilities.”

“We did not achieve the deal we wanted but we will come back and try again… This is about the future of Europe – if we fail then Europe fails and we will not permit that again.”

The stronger Triton and Poseidon operations, he said, had already saved 110,000 people showing that results were possible when there was coordination.

What the Commission was proposing, he said, was a permanent relocation mechanism so that the crisis could be dealt with more efficiently in future.

Applications would be assessed individually but the process of returning those who had no right to stay would be fast-tracked. Only some 40 per cent of those who should return were being returned at the moment.