Renew Europe calls for the reactivation of the Malta Declaration to end deaths at sea and offer concrete solidarity to frontline Member States
Author: Caroline Rhawi
Date:
The recent tragic deaths at the Mediterranean Sea are a cold, hard reminder that the current Common European Asylum System is not working and that the New Pact on Asylum and Migration is still far from becoming a reality.
We cannot afford to patiently wait while lives are at stake every day. Solutions must be delivered now, meaning that we must use all tools currently available to put an end to deaths at sea and offer concrete solidarity to frontline Member States.
Therefore, Renew Europe calls on the Council Presidency to support the reactivation of the Malta Declaration and gather a strong coalition of voluntary Member States to transfer disembarked asylum seekers from Search and Rescue operations to other EU countries.
Dacian Cioloş, president of Renew Europe group, says: "The issue of Migration should be on the top of the agenda of the European Council. Since the presentation of the new migration pact by the European Commission last year, the Council is moving too slow because of delicacies surrounding the issue. Renew Europe calls for a hands on approach to migration and urges the Council to work with us to get to a pragmatic, fair and European approach."
Fabienne Keller, the initiator of the letter, says: "We call on Europe to show concrete solidarity right from this summer. Let's not leave Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain alone to manage the arrivals of migrants in the Mediterranean. It’s time for the Member States to reactivate the Malta Declaration!"
Adding to this, we call on the Commission to activate article 33 of the Dublin III regulation for the Member States under pressure, and we urge the Member States to properly implement EU’s asylum and migration policy in full respect of our fundamental European values.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Read our full letter.
For more information, please contact
Caroline Rhawi
Mob : +46 (0)73 912 70 77
