Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
At a time when the media in Brussels described it as a historic agreement, European Commission President Ursula Wunderlein said through a statement that today, the European Parliament and the Council of Member States reached a long-awaited political agreement on the Migration and Asylum Charter. The statement stated, “First, I would like to thank the Vice-President Schinas and Commissioner Johansson for all their tireless efforts and hard work that contributed to reaching this agreement.
Immigration is a European challenge that requires European solutions.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants make perilous journeys to reach our borders. They often fall victim to criminals, smugglers and traffickers who lure them with false promises of safe passage and extort money from them.
Member States on our external borders need to manage illegal migration, which is often a challenge to protect their borders.
At the beginning of my term, I pledged to create a common EU migration management system.
This Migration and Asylum Pact will ensure an effective European response to this European challenge.
This means that Europeans will decide who comes to the EU and who can stay, not smugglers. This means protecting those in need.
This Charter will also ensure that Member States engage in efforts responsibly, showing solidarity with those who protect our external borders while preventing illegal migration into the EU.
It will give the EU and its Member States the tools to respond quickly in crisis situations, when Member States face large numbers of illegal arrivals or are used as tools when hostile states deliberately try to destabilize the EU or its Member States.
Beyond the Charter, the Commission supports Member States with practical measures to deal with immediate challenges.
We are implementing concrete action plans to combat illegal migration across the Mediterranean, the Balkans or the Atlantic.
We build partnerships with countries of origin and transit to fight smugglers and traffickers and to ensure the effective return of migrants who have no right to remain in the EU to their countries of origin.
The key to effective management of irregular migration lies in the interaction between these two pillars.
A strong and effective legal framework provided by the Migration and Asylum Charter.
And targeted action to increase the protection of our borders, disrupt and destroy smugglers’ operations, and work with third countries on mutually beneficial partnerships.