Migrants could not expect to choose where they would be given asylum in Europe and they should be “returned” if they did not qualify for protection, the European Migration Commissioner said.
As the number of migrants fleeing to Europe remains high, Dimitris Avramopoulos is calling for the implementation of the “agreed response that strikes a balance between responsibility and solidarity”.
“It must be clear for people arriving in the [European] Union that, if they need protection, they will receive it; but it is not up to them to decide where – and if they do not qualify for protection, they will be returned,” he said ahead of next week’s European Council.
In a bid to better manage the flow of migrants and to secure borders, Mr Avramopoulos urged member states to strictly apply European rules on asylum and border control and provide the necessary support to the most exposed states.
This was reiterated by the first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, who noted that those in need of protection had to apply for asylum at the first EU country they reached. If necessary, they could be relocated to other states to achieve a fairer distribution.
If they do not qualify for protection, they will be returned
“But people who do not claim asylum or do not qualify for it must be quickly and effectively identified and returned,” he said, adding that getting back to an “orderly management of flows” was the most pressing priority.
Mr Timmermans’s comments came following a report by the Commission on the implementation of priority actions under the European Agenda for Migration. The current refugee crisis – the most severe since World War II – required a radical strengthening of the EU migration system and a coordinated response, it said.
However, there should be no illusion that the refugee crisis would end before its root causes – instability, war and terror – were addressed in a definite manner, the Commission noted.
At the end of last year, Brussels had commented that the implementation of decisions taken by states to tackle migration was too slow. It noticed some progress two months later, including an increase in the rate of fingerprinting. The number of migrants in Greece whose fingerprints were included in the EU asylum fingerprint database, known as Eurodac, rose from eight per cent in September to 78 per cent in January and from 36 per cent to 87 per cent in Italy over the same period.
Many deadlines agreed upon were, however, not met and commitments were being fulfilled slowly, the Commission pointed out.
On Wednesday, the Commission wrote to all states, reminding them of their relocation obligations and calling on them to speed up the implementation.
Meanwhile, because of the emergency situation Austria is facing, Brussels proposed a one-year temporary suspension of the relocation of 30 per cent of applicants allocated to that country.
Leaders’ commitment
The European Commission is urging leaders attending the next European Council to commit to:
• Complete hotspots in Greece and Italy to ensure registration and support to migrants.
• Accelerate the agreed relocation scheme.
• Make stronger use of provisions allowing return of asylum seekers to safe third countries.
• Ensure effective return and readmission and address root causes of migration.
• Make stronger external border controls by agreeing on the European border and coast guard by June and setting it in operation in summer.
• Support basic needs of the most vulnerable, in particular children.
• Establish capacity to provide humanitarian support to EU countries facing large numbers of migrants.
• Open up legal pathways for Syrian refugees through resettlement and endorsement of the voluntary humanitarian admission scheme with Turkey.