Asylum, Migration and Integration European Parliament

Before I give the floor to the Commissioner, good morning to you,

Commissioner, I want to announce the counsel has excused itself from this

morning's de-debate. Commissioner I invite you to take the floor to open

our debate. Thank you. Good morning to you as well. Also the Parliament.

First of all I would like to express my thanks for this timely debate on

migration. Just a few hours before we will adopt the 12th report.

There's no doubt that it's vital for the success of our migration and

asylum policies based on solidarity and responsibility. We have said it

many times before in this room. This is why it's so essential that the

location works in all its aspects and is implemented by everyone. For

this, one element remains critical for the success of this scheme. The

political will, the political determination and the mutual

co-operation and trust between the member states and the beneficiary

member states. This is not to the benefit of just Italy or Greece this

is to the benefit of the entire European Union and our European

asylum system because a well functioning relocation scheme is

also essential to prevent secondary movements and preserve the integrity

of the free borders Schengen area. Member states have so far relocated

in total more than 18,000 persons and we have to acknowledge the

tangible important progress made on re-Lee koigs, especially during the

last few months. Further efforts have however needed and member

states should, therefore, deploy the additional efforts and flexibility

to make relocation of all eligible applicants currently present in

Italy and in Greece happen. But this cannot be the responsibility of just

a few member states. This has to be shared by all member states. Our

common goal is for all member states to contribute fairly and

proportionally to relocation. Right now, 12,500 eligible applicants in

Greece and around 4,000 in Italy are Regster and ready to be relocated.

If all member states step up the number of relocations it's

absolutely possible to achieve this goal by September. It is time, as I

said before, to show political will and determination. Member states

should also fully implement the recommendations that we put forward

in our regular reports. Most importantly, member states should

increase their monthly pledges in proportion to their relocations and

increase the capacity to process application requests. While many

member states have increased their contributions, there are,

regrettably, still a few member states that have not relocated a

single person. I want to be clear on that, this is in breach of their

obligations. More generally, member states should also avoid over

restrictive or arbitrary (inaudible). Limited requirements

causing delays in the transfer procedure and give priority to

applications to vulnerable applicants in particular minors. In

addition the Commission urges Italy to speed up the procedures to

identify and register relocation all eligible applicants into finding

mutually acceptable interviews with relocating within member states. All

those elible for relocation arriving in Italy need to be orderly

channelled to specific relow dogs destination hubs. -- relow indicate

I'm glad to see that your draft resolution includes many of these

recommendations. I can count on your support, it's better to say, to

convince governments to implement them fully. Relocation is a joint

effort that requires all member states to contribute. Relocation is

both an obligation and a moral duty. Thank you for your attention and I

thank the Parliament for its continued support.

APPLAUSE Thank you, Commissioner wef now move

to our speakers. I give the floor for one-and-a-half minutes. Thank

you. TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam

president. To the Commissioner, thank you for your presentation and

for the updates. It's a shame however that the Council is not

present here this morning because I think a lot of the questions that

colleagues will be asking this morning are directed to council, I

really regret the fact that the council is not here. In September,

two years ago, the Council adointedded this decision -- adopted

this decision. We saw 180,000 people were coming in every month. Its with

a crisis period. We felt, therefore, that we needed to have a permanent

system which would allow us to avert this kind of crisis using the Dublin

system. I agree with the Commissioner in that development in

recent months give us cause for cautious optimism, but it's also too

little, too late. 160,000 is no longer relevant given the in flow

now. We have to ensure all candidates who are qualified do

actually get a pace. I really wonder how it is that some countries have

done absolutely nothing and countries like Italy only 8,000

people have actually been registered over the last one-and-a-half years.

That has to be tackled as well. I have to say, I've never been in

favour of compulsory quotas, but in September 2015 and in the last

one-and-a-half years we see that the voluntary system is not working, so

we need to do something about this. Now for two minutes.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam president thank you Commissioner.

Solidarity is not a mechanism which is applied a la carte. It's into the

a choice of compassion in the face of someone fleeing war and

persecution. Solidarity is a full sharing of responsibilities and

these are key principles of our situation and instruments that we

use under certain conditions. If the nationality of the beneficiaries is

something we like, then we can accept them. Well, that's a

discriminatory way of going about this. Also this applies as well to

the same lack of commitment. If people choose to deny these rights,

it's a violation of human dignity. Thousands of men, women and

particularly children are calling for their fundamental rights and we

are depriving them of a future. We have to look at the efforts put in

by member states. Well, it's like looking at a glass with just a few

drops of water in it. 11% of these people need international

protection, but that's not something to be proud of. Only two member

states out of 28 have actually taken up their commitments. Many others I

think really could actually do much more. There are only some who very

slowly, I think, are doing their job and their duty. So what's going to

happen after the 27th September 2017? Well what will be the

obligations which apply after that date? Mr Commissioner, basically, we

have to look at this question of infringement procedures because that

in itself will not force member states to accept and shoulder their

commitments. We need a policy which will allow safe and legal migration

challenges and we -- channels and we need integration policies as well in

the host countries. Thank you. Thank you.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam president. 160,000 people are to be

transferred from Italy and Greece to member states including Belgium,

how to fill these places because how to fill these places because

The Commissioners report show that The Commissioners report show

Greece and Italy are not managing to Greece and Italy are not

there. Is a huge backlog with organise the inflow

registration in Italy. I think it's registration in Italy. I think

not right to simply point the finger not right to simply point the

and it's not true that hardly any refugees have been relocated. Most

of the refugee seekers travel themselves to northern and western

fact. As regard the Dublin rules and fact. As regard the Dublin rules and

reception and registration in the first country of arrival, that is

hardly being respected at all. We need to close the external borders

otherwise we are never going to get control of the situation. Every

asylum seeker who arrives illegally in member states using human

traffickers should be sent back to a safe place in the region of origin

as long as we reward people arriving illegally, people will continue to

risk their lives by travelling. We have to move to a system of legal

arrivals and have to have some kind of maximum limit. Thank you. Now two

minutes. TRANSLATION: Thank you very much,

madam president. Well the decision about the distribution for refugees

necessity as a solidarity measure by necessity as a solidarity measure by

member states. I want to stress this, without a proper EU asylum

system then there is still a lack of rules at the European level. The

only answer to refugees coming to Europe has been simply to close the

borders, control the borders. 62,000 asylum seekers are still waiting in

Germany for place in one of the 28 member states. Whereas countries

like Jordan, the Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, suns the beginning of the

Syria conflict, five years ago, have been taking in millions and millions

of refugees. So I'd like to remind the European Council that the

relocation decision was the decision of the Council itself and was

adopted by the Council. We will be looking at a resolution on Syria,

the EU strategy on Syria and the EU relationship with the Middle East.

How can we remain credible at the international level if we are not in

a position to enforce small solidarity measures within our own

borders when our own Heads of State and government do not follow up the

commitments that they've signed up to and that all member states have

committed in binding manner to actually implementing? So far we've

only had a small level of relocation. That's not a question of

ability, that's a question of willpower. I think that's clear to

all of us. So an appeal to all of us, it's now high time that the

member states fold up with their own commitments that they entered into

voluntarily. TRANSLATION: Thank you. Thank you,

Commissioner. This is not the first time this Parliament has called on

member states to respect their commitments and on the commission to

put an end to the optimism that's been here for some time now, we are

also calling on member states to avoid subterfuge. The refusal to

relocate, for example, those refugees who reached Greece after

the 20th of March 20 16th with the agreement with Turkey, apparently

that is illegal according to the court. Allow me to add a further

comment, relocation, if linked to the hotspot approach and the idea to

read transfer back to Greece and Italy on the basis of the Dublin

system, those refugees who have reached other countries, it will

fail because I think all of these measures together undermines the

ability of Greece and Italy to manage refugee and migrant flows,

and as far as Italy is concerned, in 2015 and 20 16th there were 5049

Dublin transfers and 3936 relocations. In other words more

people were actually sent back to Italy than were actually transferred

from Italy. So we need relocation but relocation alone is not enough.

Very often the commission does whatever it can to help Italy and

Greece to effect an erroneous system and a situation which has become

unsustainable, and I would like response on that please,

Commissioner. Two minutes, please. I would really like to thank all

colleagues who have been working together with the whole house on

making this resolution work, and I think it shows how united the

Parliament is in calling for solidarity amongst member states and

also with refugees, and I would also like to thank the commission and the

Commissioner especially for again and again putting a lot of emphasis

on the fact that this solidarity needs to be shown and this

relocation needs to be made happening. Relocation I think is a

very important tool for solidarity but it is also very important

humanitarian tool. It helps member states who have received a lot of

refugees and it helps the refugees to find a place of safety and a

place where they can build a new future. But I would even say it

gives a great opportunity for member states who did not have a lot of

experience yet with refugees as they will get support from the commission

and they will gain experience and it will be a one accommodation where

you know where the refugee comes and who the refugee is which is not the

norm that any member state might face in the near future. It is very

disappointing that the council is not present here today because the

problem is not with the people speaking here, the problem lies with

the member states. As colleagues have pointed out, the problem is not

one of capacity and how shall we do it, it is purely a problem of

political will. It is a very scandalous lack of political will

because we are talking here about people who are fleeing from war and

persecution and unaccompanied minors, they are mainly stuck in

Italy and Greece, and how horrible can that be to leave unaccompanied

children alone and overcrowding -- in overcrowding camps with no plans

for the future. I welcome the plan is to take action against member

states not doing anything. Yes, we still need a good Dublin system that

puts solidarity in place and we do need common rules and legal access

and all those things, but relocation is the first step that will show how

serious we are about our business. Thank you. Thank you. Mr Finch, one

minute. This question is next essential one for the EU, and you'll

answer this will define the future of your project -- is an existential

one. Is it going to be a union of enlightened self-interest or a

coercive structure feared and hated in equal parts by its constituents

and bound one day to explode in a welter of vindictiveness. I urge you

to look to the self-interest of your project, your peoples and your

nations, however, my experience of the direction of your mentality

leads me to the sad conclusion that you will continue along the lines,

along the path of self-destruction, both in terms of encouraging

destructive economic migration from those poor benighted countries and

in terms of sowing discord amongst your constituent nations. Thank you.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, Madam President. Working together with

human traffickers, they have each other's telephone numbers and they

are organising this flow of refugees, the boats are waiting for

them on the Libyan coast and that was confirmed but they are doing

nothing about it. ... Even meant last week there was a crash between

a Dutch flag and the Libyan coast guard and the coastguard was shot

at. Normally Italy should not even let these people in but the EU is

obliging it to. The United Nations has said less than 3% of these

people will get recognition so that means 97% of the hundreds of

thousands of these people are illegal but equally they have no

chance and they are not wanted and they should be sent back. Therefore

what should happen is that we do not relocate these migrants because we

are soon be rewarding them for criminal behaviour. Anyone entering

an EU country illegally should be excluded and denied the right to any

kind of residence permit and that will make sure that it is no longer

attractive and we should stop cooperation with them and we should

prosecute them if necessary. I think that we need to start by dealing

with the ship last week. I normally restrict questions to those who have

not contributed to the debate but we are on time so I will allow you 30

seconds of your questions. You except a blue card? Ash accept. Go

ahead. I will keep it brief, and I wanted to ask my colleague one

thing, who sees NGO beryl macro as a dangerous factor question not --

NGOs as a dangerous factor? Are they being dishonest when they are going

out there? 30 seconds for your response, please. TRANSLATION: In

this case my sympathy lies with Italy, it is so desperate that now

they are even giving boats to the Libyan coastguard to try and do

something about the situation, and look at the United Nations figures,

only 3% will finally get recognition as asylum seekers and so the NGOs

are helping the 97% to get to the other side, however you look at

this. It is quite right to criticise them. One minute, please.

TRANSLATION: President, since 2015 the European Union has been dealing

with its greatest ever challenge and that is the migration of the

People's and this is a danger to the culture and identity of Europe. The

commission is still busying itself with trying to give the up the

refugees amongst the member states, but who is a refugee then? The

European Parliament has proposed a report that suggests that migrants

just want to come here because they want to live better and they should

be dealt with inexact be the same manner as those who have tried to

escape political persecution -- dealt with in exactly the same

manner. There are countries like Hungary who do not want to accept

this and they will simply not go along with it. Where there is

basically attempt to build parallel societies within their own, that is

why we refuse this process and I'm totally in agreement with that.

TRANSLATION: Relocation is a common effort must be carried out wisely

and responsibly, taking into account the varied level of preparedness of

society to accept refugees in order to make sure of the safety of

Europeans. So that asylum holders are not exposed to aggression and

populists cannot be given a pretext to criticise Brussels. Prosecution

should be voluntary for member states. But member states need to

meet their voluntary commitments and they need to prepare the structures

for staffing and educate their societies adequately, and this is

what the associations are doing in Athens and Sicily, on voluntary and

proportionate access and they should fulfil their previous commitments

and I don't understand why the Polish government refused to accept

7000 refugees including children, this was the commitment of the

previous government. 40 million nation can really afford that and

that is why I'm proud of the initiative of the mayors of many

Polish villages and towns that have announced they are willing to accept

refugees even if these are numbers of 5-6 children, and if a small

committee can take care of a small family, let's allow them to do it.

-- a small community. Not everyone in my country is insensitive to the

suffering of others and our civil society is doing quite well although

the government is trying to limit our freedoms. Polish people are

offering help by organising humanitarian corridors, and the

Polish government who is using Catholic values as their main

arguments is not really treating it serious, and this should not be

treated as key to resolving this, this is one of the instruments and

Europe has many of them. Thank you. One and a half minutes. TRANSLATION:

Thank you, Madam President. It is an international legal obligation that

side should be offered to those in danger of persecution -- that asylum

should be offered. Relocation of refugees is not just a demonstration

of solidarity but also of our sense of responsibility. And we can't

simply leave it to the member states on the external borders. If they had

to shoulder the entire burden, the asylum system will collapse and it

will lead to suffering and chaos. We need a stronger system or if the

asylum system doesn't work properly then Schengen and the whole European

project will be put in jeopardy. There are people who say that the

European Union wants to let everyone in without importing any kind of

control but that is not true. Those who propagate hate and fear are not

interested in truth. It is their strategy to take political power and

they don't have any solutions will stop but they do everything to make

sure that solutions do not work. But the demi dogs themselves will fall

we demand that the member states comply with their implementation --

demigods. Thank you, one minute, please.

TRANSLATION: Well, back to the same thing, Commissioner. The refugees,

the migrants, arriving in Italy and Greece. Thousands of refugees and

illegal migrants as well have ended up on the Greek islands. There are

clashes between them. All this is happening in the summer when things

are supposed to be calm for the tourist season. We have seen only

11,339 relocations. 17% of the figure established for Greece, but

the programme is going to expire in a few months' time. The Commission,

however, has not really taken any measures. Germany, even, has not

stepped up to the mark. Only 12% relocations have happened with

Germany. Only 22% of those agreed with France. So what, finally, is

going to happen? Is this relocation process going to work? Italy and

Greece cannot stand this situation any longer. We are flooded by

refugees and they have to be relocated from our countries into

the remaining countries of Europe. Thank you. Thank you, one minute.

TRANSLATION: Thank you very much, Commissioner. Thank you madam

president. The issue of refugees is one that affects lives and hopes and

destinies and in the conclusion to the opening remarks you said this is

a moral duty as well as an obligation. Well, this simply to

respect our own commitments. All member states should do so. It's not

acceptable that one member state should decide not to implement

decision that is they've taken themselves. There are a couple of

bottlenecks that need to be resolved here. We needed to reduce the delays

for decisions to be made. That's very important, not only for Italy

and Greece, but also for European policies on the whole, and, given

the situation, we have a moral duty to protect vulnerable people in

particular. Particular priority needs to be given to children. In

Europe we cannot simply allow children to fall prey to people

traffickers and abusers. I've read in the report that some member

states are simply refusing to relocate unaccompanying minors. The

refugee crisis could put at question who we are and we have to rise to

the challenge. Thank you. One-and-a-half minutes.

TRANSLATION: The decision taken by the EU to have a refugee relocation

programme has largely remained unimplemented because of the refusal

of certain member states to comply with this. According to the

Commission, less than one fifth of the relocation targets has been

respected for refugees from Italy and Greece. So we have to realise

that solidarity is something which is anchored in the EU treaties and

it involves everyone with no exemptions. All EU member states.

They cannot pick and choose. Will is a common stance and co-operation

which has been foreseen between member states, but in practice we

are not seeing the required solidarity. These facts, together

with the fact that some member states are cherry-picking amongst

refugees and migrants on the basis of their own nationality that does

not honour our principles and values in the EU. We have, I believe, to

set up a fairer and particularly more effective framework for the

takeup and fair distribution of the refugees in the forthcoming months

and years. We should not make excuses any longer. Thank you. One

minute, please. TRANSLATION: Thank you. 160,000

people are to be relocated from Italy and Greece to other member

states. That was the intention. It was an exercise on al-Darrylty,

solidarity with refugees and solidarity with member states. --

solidarity. Two years on not many of those 160,000 have been relocated.

Even worse there seems to have been a new definition created. All

refugees arriving in Greece after the March 2016 were not to be

relocated. Why not? Who came up with this? This Parliament agreed three

times and approved the relocation system three times. This clause was

not included. The Turke issued a press statement. We don't see the

clause written on pain any anywhere. Member states are not meeting their

quote yeahs. Ing quote Yeos. They -- Croat yas. -- quotas. Thank you.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam president. Let's be honest

colleagues, this situation is a huge shame. Thousands of people who

should have been relocated. 160,000. So far only 18,400 have been

relocated. That leaves us with 142,097 by September. That's the EU

solidarity that everyone is talking about, populism, intervention, the

stronger EU - we are still in this situation here. Italy and Greece

have been chosen as a refugee camp for the entire EU. I come from

Sicily. Sicily is on its knees because the policy for managing

migrants as well, well, we saw 60 odd people arrested who were

involved with organised crime, there was speculating on migrants. We're

still talking. So, basically, what we have to do here is to switch from

words to acts. The structural funds should be cut to those member states

who refuse to do their bit. Thank you. Thank you. Will you accept a

blue card? 30 second. Thank you very much. Your colleague, besides the

moral duty mentioned here by the Commissioner, considering this moral

duty of the member states, don't you think the member states should also

meet their legal obligations to accept the migrants and probably

might be time for the European institutions should have to think to

impose some sanctions on the countries that don't accept

immigrants? Thank you. TRANSLATION: Thank you for that

question. That's precisely what we're trying to do. That is what I

was trying to say at the end of my speech. Unfortunately, we've used

words, we've called for solidarity and mentioned legal obligations.

That's got us nowhere. We need probably to change our mind-set. We

have to stop the European structural funds to those states who have not

respected their commitments who have not accepted to take up migrants who

should be relocated into their countries. It can be done, so let's

get on with it. One minnow. -- minute now.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, president. I just don't understand things here,

really. The whole subject of the debate is relocation. It seems it

doesn't work very well. In he reality, we're talking about a tiny

piece of a much larger problem. If it was just a question of

relocation, then that would be great. But last year in Italy

180,000 people landed. Maybe 5% of those might be escaping from war or

political refugees. It's only this 5% that need to be relocated. Is

that right? No, the problem is all the others. What are we doing to

bring them home? What do we plan to do? Are we going to leave them all

in Italy? This is the big problem that no-one is talking about in this

room. What are these people going to do at the end of the day? Are they

going to work on the black market? Are they going to fall into the

hands of organised crime in this week, in my own town, people were

arrested who had asylum requests ongoing they were selling drugs and

stealing things. I think what's going on now is basically a kind of

slave trade. Who are the accomplices? It's those who are

doing nothing to solve the situation. Thank you. For

one-and-a-half minutes now. TRANSLATION: Thank you very much

indeed madam president. Commissioner, colleagues, on the

26th September, as we well know, we have the deadline for the end of

this agreement. The efforts have been made, but the programme is not

working as it should for three basic reasons. Because there are certain

member states that haven't taken up any refugees others have been cherry

picking on the basis of refugee pro files. Other member states take two

to three months to respond to applications. Only 12,000 people,

12,500, have been relocated from Greece. So we're far off our

objectives. Commissioner, you know perfectly well that the agreement

between the EU and Turkey is also showing problems. Since the

agreement was signed, 23,000 new migrants and refugees have arrived

in Greece. On the contrary, only 1,000 returned to Turkey. It's a

huge problem. It's only with very clear decision that is we can

address this. Decisions which will be tough on those member states

which are not implementing their own decisions and going their own sweet

way, and also we have to look at what we can do with the programme.

Can we extend it so it can be implemented? Also I think end up

with some kind of stable, ongoing programme. That's the only way we'll

be able to solve these problems. One-and-a-half minutes.

TRANSLATION: Thank you very much president. Well, the 160,000

relocations promised, two years ago, well, only 17,000 have actually been

carried out. I think that's shameful. As is the absence of the

Council on the debate. The Canadians have taken on 35,000 Syrians having

the Atlantic Ocean in the way. It's not a question of resources it's a

question of national selfishness and lack of political lchl they have not

respecting their oin commitments they've take. Up themselves. Some

are going to the Court of Justice, some are choosing the asylum seekers

on the base of discriminatory criteria. This has nothing to do

with any excuses involving security. So I think here people are expecting

not to share responsibility in all of this. It's an infant tile

attitude. And, if you don't stop repat rowation of some asylum

seekers to Italy, in line with the Dublin rules, it's absolutely

ridiculous. It's also ridiculous we should be relocating those people

who have more than 65% chance of getting asylum. You are encouraging

situation that is do not comply with Geneva Conventions. So I think what

we is a new decision from the Council. We also need is a revision

of Dublin so there is a centralised responsibility sharing mechanism.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Now for one minute. Thank you,

president, Commissioner. The relocation scheme has been a failure

because member states are reluctant to implement for reasons that are

very understandable. This kind of immigration is extremely costly to

their societies, both economically and socially. We should abandon the

concept of relocation and we should also abandon the idea that mass

immigration to Europe is a solution to the problems of the Third World.

What we need is a strict Australian-style push back policy at

our external borders to stem the chaotic, illegal flow to Europe.

Then we need to give more support to the countries of origin, to the

countries of transit and to the people in refugee camps. Thank you

very much. Thank you. Now for one minute.

TRANSLATION: Thank you very much indeed. The council has excused

itself because it doesn't want to listen. It knows that the EU has

committed to accepting... People before 2017 but we are almost at the

date and the take-up hasn't happened. Most countries are

dragging their feet, but the hundreds of thousands of people are

suffering on a daily basis or dying in their attempts to reach Europe.

Hungary has gone even further, they have said they will not take any and

they will be at risk if they accept a rotor system -- quota system. He

said clearly that state sovereignty was not brought into question and it

was irrevocable and that is what gave rise to war. The dogma of -- or

sovereignty with no limits undermines the authority of

institutions in Europe and the whole of the European Union so we really

need to act. Thank you. And now for one minute. TRANSLATION: Thank you

very much, Madam President. The quota system was not going to work.

We also said it was unfair and it was inadequate. What we are seeing

is not only that it is unfair and inadequate, but it is not being

implemented by member states. Virtually none of the member states

have complied with what they themselves said was inadequate

themselves and that means we're going to have to take a million

refugees around the world this year. Europe is not doing what it should

be doing and that is the clearest sign of the political crisis within

the European project. Spain is a great example. We've only taken up

about 5% of the figure we were supposed to be taking and that is

just not accept double and we have to do something about it. --

acceptable. We have to be clear about this, in these European

institutions we have been told austerity was compulsory and anybody

that did not comply was punished for it. So why don't we say that

basically human rights, also have to be complied with, that is absolutely

essential and people who do not comply with those also have to be

punished. Thank you. One minute, please. TRANSLATION: Thank you very

much, President. During 2015 just a few countries in Europe took on a

huge number refugees in a short period. The reception system

collapsed and borders were closed and solidarity between member states

was completely absent. In fact the whole EU construction started to

shake, just two countries provided a good example, Spain and Sweden.

Sweden took in 163,000 refugees in 2015. We don't need to take in the

whole of our quota because we have already taken in so many but in

Spain we have already heard what happened, they are not taking very

many but the autonomous regions of Spain are very different. Some are

very good and some have said they want to receive migrants but it is

the central government that is simply opposing and the regions want

to do their job but the government says no and I think we need is to

make sure the Spanish government takes its responsibility. One

minute, please. TRANSLATION: Well, relocation, shared responsibility

and solidarity, it all sounds very nice, but like pretty much

everything in this building, it is all constructed up on a basis of

dreams and hopes that will never come true. Whatever kind of

relocation system we find for the future, you won't turn all of

Europe's countries into multicultural societies and that

will file. Sweden has had huge amounts of migration and we are

learning the lesson slowly but surely. Every relocation process is

going to take years and people are going to stay afterwards and they

are going to go underground at the end of a long process. If they get

no. Returns are going to be appealed and protested against and the tens

of thousands of people who behave illegally by coming to our countries

by kindest and roots and then stay in our country illegally are called

undocumented migrants by you but some of them will carry out terror

attacks like the one that took place in April in Sweden. Some of them

steal and some of them are going to work in the black market, what have

they got to lose? They already live in contradiction with the law, and

in ten years' time when you stop opposing things like amnesties,

people are going to start thinking about the sense behind this. One

minute, please. TRANSLATION: In European language it is impossible

to call a spade a spade, union calls for relocation but in fact what it

has sided is to repopulate 650,000 by the end of this exercise

according to the Commissioner -- what it has decided. There are two

objectives, low-cost Labour so companies can make more profit, and

to break international identities and to transform citizens into

docile consumers. The Claude bill bill -- Jean-Claude Juncker plan is

also part of this, this is only the beginning and mega- states have

understood this and that is why they are resisting, like Hungary and

Poland -- member states. I encourage them to continue this resistance

because every country has the right to resist being flooded by

immigrants. One and a half minutes. TRANSLATION: We talk a lot about

solidarity in Europe but we don't follow through. Over two years more

than 1.5 billion people have arrived at our borders and the member states

have agreed to relocate less than 100,000 people -- 1.5 million. That

is a ridiculously small number. Only 16% of the commitment have actually

been carried out, two years on, with unaccompanied minors being affected

by this. There are countries that want to not be involved in this

effort at all. I could mention my own country, Portugal, expressed a

willingness to receive more than 5800 people more than was originally

agreed but the Prime Minister, said they were willing to receive a total

of 10,000, that sounded very impressive and generous. But

Portugal so far has only received 1228 people. About the tenth of the

objective we set ourselves, who is failing here? The commission, the

Portuguese government, or unknown third parties? This Parliament has

done everything it can and we have rapidly approved the emergency

mechanisms and the budgetary increases. And today we have a

positive approach recording this debate and making relocation happen,

so let's diagnose the problem and take all of the necessary measures,

every single measure without any exception. Thank you. There is a

blue card. You will accept 30 seconds. TRANSLATION: Colleagues, I

have listened very very carefully to what you have had to say and I

understood that you were saying that the re-localisation and transfer

programme is perfect but I'm not convinced of that. What do you think

about guaranteeing the success of this? Shouldn't the commission

basically communicate better with member states so that citizens

become more tolerant and they accept this mechanism? We can't simply say

that we have to protect the Schengen zone, what about the others who

don't belong to it? What do they do? TRANSLATION: I do agree with you,

that we need better and more communication but that is not where

the problem lies. The problem lies in political will, there are member

states that don't want to cooperate and who refuse and there are member

states that don't want to take their share and this doesn't work. We

can't call the European solidarity and allow it to fail. I agree with

those who say a lack of goodwill and maybe we need some kind of binding

system and a relocation mechanism. One and a half minutes. TRANSLATION:

Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner, the responsibilities

of the member states and the commission in this situation have

been mentioned very clearly by my colleagues. The proposal right now,

we have about 2000 unaccompanied minors in Greece and some of them

are in safe zones within camps and others completely separate. Now,

they have been moved from Syria and Iraq, basically with the huge

population we have in the EU, it is a disgrace that we can't find a safe

place for these children. Who are fleeing from war. Member states are

not actually stepping up to the mark and there are thousands of people

with their papers ready but nothing is happening. We are talking about a

handful of children who need stability and safety in their lives.

There was a conference that was attended on migration and we have to

make sure that member states make a statement at that conference that

member states will make sure that we will find a safe place for these

children. It will be a small step for relocation about a huge step for

these children. I would like your support, Mr Commissioner, to put

this message to the children first, now. Thank you. One minute.

TRANSLATION: The whole system of relocation to member states is not

working. But the 116,000 migrants, only 10% have been excepted and the

Slovak Republic in Hungary have launched a complaint and the ECJ

will decide. Refugee quotas have not been adopted with the approval of

the member states, and the majority decided for the minority that this

is a very sensitive topic and it has strengthened anti-European and

extremist forces. If it becomes clear that these decisions can be

taken without those concerned and being involved, that is going to

destroy Europe. The small member states are going to be frustrated

and we can't have Western East and the good and the bad. You cannot

take into account democratically elected governments. Hotspots are a

good solution and the new European Coast Guard is a good idea, as well.

One minute, please. TRANSLATION: Commissioner, I'm very happy that we

are discussing this topic here in Strasburg, but I feel it is a

terrible shame that the council is not present. We have to look at the

situation of people on the ground, 23,000 unaccompanied minors,

colleagues, are in the camps in Italy and Greece, living in

conditions that are not worthy of humans. I have visited camps, no

water and no access to childcare and no schools, these children are

victims, Commissioner, not criminals. It was said last year

that 10,000 children have gone missing after crossing the borders

into Europe, have they been killed for their organs or forced into

prostitution? Have they been moved onto other countries? Colleagues, I

would like to make a plea, member states need to comply with their

demands. You have one and a half minutes. TRANSLATION: Hungary from

the very beginning of this process has held the position that the

relocation of migrants cannot be binding. The other member states

decided upon the quotas but originally we were talking about

160,000 refugees to be relocated but only 18,000 have actually been

relocated and that proves that only a voluntary basis is possible. I

think it is very dangerous to have an obligatory relocation programme,

solidarity doesn't work just through imposing quotas, it can only be

carried out by police cooperation and border protection is. Hungary

has invested 9 million euros in border protection and anything else

would be taken by migrants as an invitation. It only invites people

smuggling and crime, so I think that we'd need to work outside our

borders to try and separate the real refugees from the economic migrants

otherwise the system will never be able to work properly.

Thank you one-and-a-half minutes. TRANSLATION: It's a disgrace that

the Council is not present today, but it's even worse that every time

the Council has acted late, slowly or in the wrong way in this

direction, you know, them coming back and taking decisions. We've

said this in all the official languages of the union. So what they

don't want to implement this. Decisions are taken, people don't

comply with them. Thousands of people have died, how many? 180,000

in reception camps. What's happening? We have this Dublin

agreement that needs to be reformed. There's a lack of political will.

That's what it's about. A lack of political will to comply with the EU

legislation and also there are not enough humanitarian visas. There's

also a lack of sanctions on those countries who don't comply. I'm

sorry to have to say this, Spain could take up thousands and it so

sadly is not actually complying with what it signed up to. So many lies

from the Council there. There.'S Only one single response, it has to

be a legal one from the Commission. Sanctions on those countries that

don't comply. Not infringement procedures which go on for years. A

moral basis, repression. No, we need economic sanctions on those

countries that do not comply. No EU aid until they've actually

implemented this. It's a binding legal decision which was

established. It's in the Lisbon Treaty and the member states have to

comply. Three blue card requests. I'm looking to get the third. It's

difficult. I will not give three blue cards. I will decide on

somebody who has not spoken in the debate.

30 second for your question, thank you.

TRANSLATION: Madam president, you were right to notice as many have

before that the European countries are quite simply not approving some

openingly some practically to the cohersion of relocation of

immigrants throughout Europe. You said solidarity is a must. Do you

really believe in order to replace the idea of the European Union it's

worth to actually put into place a following crisis in Europe? Mr

Lopez. I'm not sure if I asked if you would take the question. I ask

in retro speck. Is it OK to take the question? It's entirely your choice.

Thank you. TRANSLATION: Now, how many times

have we had to explain in how many languages that those who ratified

the Lisbon Treaty were entering into a legal commit am of solidarity and

protection of our borders and guaranteeing free circulation within

the EU. Solidarity is not just a pious wish. It's a a binding

decision. When we have migrants who cross a bordered and come in and

they are being held in these camps, the reception camps, we need a

European response, led by the Commission and supported by all EU

member states. For those who don't comply, that equal sanctions. One

minute now. TRANSLATION: Today, once again, we

are having debate about compulsory relocation of migrants in Europe. I

think, for the first time, we should be honest and admit it's a fiasco.

We haven't managed to relocate these refugees apart from a very small

part of them, even though there was a Council decision taken on this.

This is a failure for the European Union and in Italy you see that

those who have arrived illegally simply travel on to western Europe.

We don't want migrants coming to the richest countries and for Eastern

European countries to say we don't want to take them. We have to find a

proper model. For example an Australian push back model. If we

see there a lack of will or realism it's impossible to accept millions

of migrants into our territory. One inform minutes, please.

TRANSLATION: Thank you madam president. May I start by responding

to what the previous speaker said. Ladies and gentlemen, do you really

think if you order somebody to do something that it works like that in

life? I have four small children and I tell them - you have to be tidy,

they never are tidy. When you use sanctions, cohersion the child

always tries to push back and fight those sanctions. This is what this

entire discussion about. Ordering somebody to do something against

their will is nonsense. I said several times in this place

Commissioner that the relocation mission is a huge utopian project.

If it were to work, then only 30% of member states actually refused the

relocation mechanism. Then you would have already relocated 120,000

refugees, but that is not the case. That has not been done so far. We've

been discussing this system for two years. I believe this system is a

solution we focused on, but it's completely useless. This is not the

only solution to the migration crisis. Let's face it, this system

is never going to work. Solidarity, that has been coerced, is never

going to work. Thank you. Thank you. One minute, please.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam president. Let me just remind

everybody that the temporary relocation was not supported by all

member states. It was adopted to go around the unanimity principle of

member states in the European Council. The governments of Slovakia

and Hungary have filed a complat with the Court of Just of the

European Union. Here at the European Parliament we won't even wait for

the courts' verdict as if it's been taken. Perhaps we should show more

respect toward the court. Relocation has been rejected by a vast majority

of the societies of the countries that have supported it because it is

based on cohersion both for the relocated people as well as those

that are to accept them. They have their rights too which the union

seems to be forgetting. Therefore the relocation mechanism does not

work and it will not work. One-and-a-half minutes, please.

TRANSLATION: President, on the subject of immigration the

Parliament, the Council and the Commission and Europe as a whole

face major challenge for their credibility. Waiting for the changes

to the Dublin rules, then we are supposed to be applying a principle

of solidarity to all member states, not leaving Italy and Greece alone

into dealing with a flow of migration that was absolutely

unprecedented in our continent. It's with great enthusiasm that we

received the relocation programme. I must say to date it's simply

embarrassing to comment on the data. 18,000 relocations actually carried

out. 11% of the number originally planned for. The number set by the

Commission, by the Council, by Parliament. It's been up to Italy to

make an extra effort in terms of carrying out identification. Italy

has done its job. Italy has been asked to create new hotspots. This

has also been done. But if we're talking about just 5,000 relocations

from Italy, that is simply embarrassing. This simply cannot be

allowed. Member states have to implement the pledges they have

taken otherwise I think there's no option other than to start

infringement proceedings. We also need to consider flanking measures

to try and manage to achieve the planned number of relocations before

the end of September 2017. Thank you. One minute.

TRANSLATION: Thank you, madam president. The migration crisis

shows in a tragic way that some things are no longer working

properly in the EU. We have had first-hand experience of this now.

Unfortunately, it's at the expense of the poorest people. The EU

started as a project of citizens and what have the big groups in this

parliament done with it? They've made it a project for the elite.

They come up with projects which don't work in practice because they

aren't accepted by the citizens nor by some of the member states. So we

have to stop with coming up with theories that don't work in

practice. We have to base ourselves on a voluntary system and

establishing co-operation, but at that point agreements that have been

concluded need to be respected. I think it's populous for some people

here to say there should be penalties if the agreements are not

respected. When it comes to the crisis everyone says - no, we don't

need penalties. We really have to stick to what we've agreed. That

completes our speakers list. I'm faced with a dilemma. We have 16

requests for catch the eye. I will take eight. I give the floor for one

minute. I will be strict. Thank you. TRANSLATION: Thank you very much

madam president. The migration crisis in 2015-2016 brought more

than a million migrants to Europe. Our aim has been 160,000

relocations. However, very few of these numbers have already been

relocated. There are problems on both sides. Member states that

refuse to accept refugees on the one hand and the pressure on the more

willing member states. I come from a member state where people are

against refugees, generally speaking. However, the government

managed to receive more than the quota allocated by the EU so far. In

Slovenia we received 70,000 refugees during the Bosnia crisis. So it's

just the political will to implement the relocation plan. Thank you.

Thank you. One minute. TRANSLATION: Thank you very much

indeed, madam president, Commissioner. The migration crisis

has turned out to be a humanitarian crisis because of its scale. We've

seen a deficit of solidarity. That's not respecting the principle of

solidarity which is bringing into question the EU's values. It's also

because of the failure of the relocation programme. Unless all EU

member states are on board, we cannot by September achieve the

objectives set for the programme. It's therefore crucial, not only

that we extend the relocation programme, but that we also make it

binding in a necessary way. I really hope that we do not have to apply

sanction mechanisms because that would be terribly sad for all of us

to see this ongoing lack of solidarity being shown by European

countries. We have however to come up with a European response to this

migratary crisis. The financial aid extended to Italy recently is

recognition of the work put in by my country we need a legislative base

as well supporting asylum. Thank you.

TRANSLATION: Thank you. Last week during a visit to the president of

the European Parliament there was a recall of the position of the

government being respected and this will allow us to take up in the

Basque country people who are suffering and need support. Spain is

not taking as many people as it should, and there are many people

who are helping in regions, and my question for the Commissioner is,

how these attitudes are taken on board when programmes are drawn up

and established. The attitude of many of our citizens and the

situation is closest of them are very far removed from the solidarity

that is being called for to face this challenge. Well, those states

that don't comply with the provisions should have sanctions

applied. TRANSLATION: It's very sad to see that all of us here are

talking about numbers which is ridiculous in any case given the

scale of what we are talking about. We should be talking about people,

who are we to deny a future to those people that we met in the refugee

camp? On Friday. People knew that these numbers were never going to be

met. It is a system which is skewed and all those people who have

arrived after the 20th of March have been condemned to live in limbo. At

least those who manage to survive the crossing because many more

people than we know are dying. It's our past and who knows it might in

the future at some time be our future again. Do we really have to

suffer ourselves in order to understand the suffering of these

people? These are not numbers, these are people. Thank you. One minute.

TRANSLATION: Well, I think it's an absolute disgrace that the council

is not here today, but not meeting their commitments, they are not

here. There should have been 160,000 people relocated, but only 5000 from

Italy and 12,000 from Greece. Diggers have increased, as well. 18%

up arrivals in Italy over 2015 -- figures have increased. We have got

to stand with what happens with our refugees and we need to respect the

quotas and I would like to call on the European Commission. Countries

are not complying. Spain, 5%. You have two options, you accept the

failure and I know that many people don't understand the situation. Or

you showed guts and make sure that as we say in the resolution we have

sanctions on those people that don't comply. Thank you. TRANSLATION:

The competent commission is here for this and he is seeing that this

programme which is being put forward has been a failure. We have seen a

very low figure of the 160,000 who have been relocated. It's running

out in September as well. But are people going to show that this has

been a success? With the numbers that have been relocated over two

years. I don't think the measures have been actually adequate. We have

seen also an increase of 36% of illegal migration in Italy and the

same figures in Greece, as well. same figures in Greece, as well.

Those people are accusing Europe becoming Fortress Europe, and and my

responses, we need to do something to address Erdogan's Turkey, as well

-- and my response is. One minute. TRANSLATION: Thank you very much.

The Commissioner has stated that relocations don't work.

Unfortunately it has not been said why. May 20 17th the commission

published a table which shows a different approach. Great Britain

has taken the radical solution and is leaving the EU and it is no

secret that it is illegal in which was one of the main items for

Brexit. -- illegal immigration. Solidarity is one of the main

principles on which the EU rests and refugees must be helped, and we have

the capacity to do it. The Czech Republic, even though it was

outvoted, has decided it will accept its quota of 3000 refugees but this

quota could not be met. We have information from the Ministry of the

Interior that this is not only due to the lack of willingness of the

Czech Republic but also the lack of preparedness of the refugees to do

this. TRANSLATION: Two years have gone by since the proposal to set up

this relocation programme. We welcome dip then as a sign of

solidarity and we hope that finally the member states had understood

that managing the refugee flows did not only applied to the countries on

the periphery -- we welcome it. And despite all the good promises, the

outcome has not met expectations, and out of the thousands of migrants

who were planned for this programme, very few have been relocated and

many thousands are still stuck in Greece. Certain numbers in mainland

Greece and the Aegean islands, so what will happen with those

countries who refuse to participate in this programme? Are they going to

be sanctioned? Also, what plans do you have after the expiry of this?

What will happen to the countries on the borders of Europe? Well, this

has been published and people are saying there is an increase in

sexual exploitation of migrants, as well, so that's a further reason and

I would agree that they should be an approach taken to the young migrants

in particular. It is helpful to stick to our time. To those that did

not get the opportunity, apologies, there was a long list, but you might

submit your statements for the minutes. I now give the floor to the

Commissioner. Let me start by expressing my thanks for this very

interesting debate and I would like to repeat that there is no

solidarity a la cart, we have said many times. This is one of the tools

and ways which the in which we can show solidarity. TRANSLATION: You

rightly stressed the moral aspect of the relocation issue and I share

many of your views and I count on your continued support as I said in

my introductory remarks. We shouldn't forget that we are talking

about people. Who are in need of protection. Our duty moral and

political is to make sure that they get this protection as soon as

possible and in a manageable way for the European Union. This is the

essence of emergency relocation schemes. This is why our focus right

now is to make sure that everyone eligible is relocated to all member

states before September. Member states that have not relocated

anyone or have not relocated for more than a year should make

progress immediately. If no action is taken within a month, we will

specify our position or make the use of our powers under the treaties and

in bitter killer on the opening of infringement procedures. -- in

particular. I'm very clear on that. Let me say that I understand your

concerns and remarks on the deadline and the future but this relocation

scheme has not been set up as an intermediary in view of the reform

of Dublin. They are an emergency measure. Of course, as we very

clearly said member states legal obligations do not stop after

September 2017. And if you have an outstanding bill you have to pay it.

the opportunities to revise the the opportunities to revise the

scope of the location decisions. But as I said, at the moment, our

priority is to relocate all migrants in need of protection that are

currently eligible. We need to focus on this objective. If all member

states actively contribute it is perfectly possible and I count on

you to help us make this happen. TRANSLATION: Well, Greek members of

the European Parliament, you give me opportunity to speak a few words in

my own language. This is an issue of huge importance to Greece because as

with Italy it is on the front line, it is these countries which are

coming under the greatest pressure. The situation in Greece, I would

like to stress, that if the member states stepped up to the mark and

met their commitments, it is totally possible that by September all of

the applicants who are coming into Greece could be relocated, something

over 12,000, and Greece has completed all of the procedures and

if everyone steps up to the mark we can achieve our objectives. Some

member states are not copper -- cooperating as has been said. Allow

me to say that patience is running out. Although I would also like to

stress that I do believe in dialogue and achieving agreements, that is

the plan we have to continue to follow and we have been doing that,

but we are in quite an extreme situation right now. The proof that

this programme is providing results is that there has been an increase,

rapid increase over the last few months, but as I was saying at the

beginning, the next step, if there is no compliance, will be fought the

commission and have no fears about this, the commission will

politically and economic review support its policy -- economically

support this policy. Certain colleagues have been made about the

agreement between the EU and Turkey -- certain comments. Well, it's

working, under pressure and in difficult circumstances, and I think

we've had some major results achieved. Some colleagues mention

figures, well, about a year and two months ago... There were about

12,000 crossings a day. But that has dropped now to about 50-60 a day and

we have two keep this agreement alive. Returns to Turkey are

continuing. I was in Athens yesterday and I met the competent

ministers in the Greek government and I was very satisfied to hear

that these procedures have been speeded up, as well. As was

stressed, though, yes indeed it is unaccompanied minors who must be our

priority. That message has to get across to all member states because

from Italy in particular and I know some of your attacking colleagues

mentioned this, there is not enough relocation of mine is -- some of

your Italian colleagues mentioned this. Nevertheless, progress has

been made and I believe this debate today he has shown that the European

Parliament supports the relocation and supports the commission's

the Greek members of the Parliament the Greek members of the Parliament

for their work and I would also like to thank the European Parliament for

its support. From the word go the necessary support was there and you

have provided huge input into our policy, also in respect of the

political and moral content of the decisions which have been adopted,

as well. Thank you. TRANSLATION: I have received three

resolutions for a motion on the basis of the statement, and the

first was there and the second one was signed and the third one was

signed... The vote will be on Thursday.