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Extraordinary European Summit

23 April 2015 in Brussels

Speech by Martin Schulz 

President of the European Parliament

- as prepared for delivery -

Ladies and gentlemen,

Twenty years ago, I became a member of the European Parliament. For
twenty years, the European Parliament has been calling for a truly
European asylum and migration policy. Today, I could still deliver the
same speech, I delivered twenty years ago. Sadly and tragically, not
much has changed. We witness the same tragedy repeating itself over and
over again as more people perish in the Mediterranean. 

Yet another deadly shipwreck last Sunday with 800 refugees believed
drowned has shocked us all deeply. These refugees left their homes
because of war and persecution, famine and poverty. They came to Europe
seeking protection. Hoping for a better life. But all they found was
death. 

Today, the Mediterranean is the world's deadliest border. For each
person reaching our shores, we will never know with certainty how many
have drowned in the sea. Every single life lost off our coasts is a
stain on Europe. 

Each time a refugee boat sinks, with people screaming, shouting and
drowning, we swear "never again". We hold minutes of silence. We lay
wreaths. We promise that this time must be the turning point. And then
...

Many people blame the deaths of these people on "the EU". But there is
no such thing as an EU migration policy. We have a patchwork of 28
different national systems. It is not Brussels which decides about
migration policy. It is London, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Riga, Lisbon who
decide whether a specific country takes in refugees fleeing a war zone,
whether asylum is granted, a return ordered or a rescue mission sent
out. Because in the past twenty years the home affairs ministers of your
countries have not been able or were unwilling to develop a European
system. The lack of a truly European asylum and migration policy is now
turning the Mediterranean into a graveyard.

Our immediate priority must be to save lives at sea. When people are
dying right in front of our eyes, human decency demands that we hold out
our hand to save them. 

I urge you to quickly step up search and rescue operations in the
Mediterranean. We must reinforce the joint operations in the
Mediterranean coordinated by Frontex, Triton and Poseidon, by
exponentially increasing the number of active vessels, assets and
financial resources. Of course, this could have been done months ago,
last October to be precise, when Triton was set up. I am sure that those
of you around the table who were reluctant to contribute remember the
discussion well. 

We must also extend the reach of the operations so that they can
intervene where people are drowning. Triton’s operational reach must
be increased to prevent, in some cases, a 48 hour delay before reaching
those in distress. International humanitarian law obliges you to save
people in distress at sea. I appeal to you: act now to save more people
from drowning.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

We are meeting in Brussels today to prevent more people from dying. But
our responsibility does not stop here. We also have a responsibility
towards those who survive. 

Together we have to find a way to manage migration that is humane and
realistic. And our common European action has to take place in a spirit
of solidarity with a fair sharing of responsibilities among all EU
countries.

I believe that in our search for new asylum and migration policies we
should start by being honest: There are no simple answers. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we are all affected by migration in different
ways. The level of pressure varies widely. And the responsibilities are
not evenly divided.

Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus and Spain are directly affected by refugees
arriving by sea. Because your countries happen to be the gateways to
Europe. More than a hundred thousand people were rescued by Italy's
search and rescue operation Mare Nostrum in 12 months. And I can only
commend Italy for this humanitarian operation. 

Malta, a country of 430.000 inhabitants is responsible for coordinating
search and rescue operations in a zone of a quarter of a million square
kilometres. These are hugely disproportionate duties. 

Germany is faced with a very different challenge: It received more than
200,000 asylum applications last year, one third of all those made in
the EU. Four Member States, Germany, Sweden, Italy and France fielded
nearly two thirds of all asylum applications. 

Clearly, we still have to find a fair division of responsibilities in a
spirit of European solidarity. Because it is simply not fair to let the
countries who border the Mediterranean deal with migration on their own.
After all, the management of the EU's external borders is a common
European responsibility, not a Maltese, Greek, Cypriot, Spanish or
Italian issue. Nor is it fair to let a small number of countries host
the majority of refugees. Clearly, we do need a system for fairly
distributing refugees. I appeal to everyone around this table to step up
to the challenge and accept their share of responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Last year an unprecedented 626 thousand asylum applications were
received by EU member states. Some say this is too much. But less than
half of these applications are granted. And if you compare this to 507
million Europeans, it becomes more manageable. And just take a look at
what our neighbouring countries are doing: Only five per cent of Syrian
refugees have found shelter in Europe whereas Lebanon, a country of five
million, is hosting a million Syrians. Recently, I had the opportunity
of meeting with Syrian refugees who have fled from conflict areas in
search of shelter, in the Öncüpınar Refugee Camp. Under such tragic
circumstances, it was heartwarming to see the smiling faces of children
who are receiving the proper education they need. Thanks to the
praiseworthy efforts by the Turkish Government to preserve the human
dignity of these refugees. 

Yes, we can do more. Especially, if we act together and shoulder our
responsibilities together.

Clearly, we have to find a way to treat refugees fairly, decently and
equally, no matter where they end up in Europe. But today, people
fleeing for the same reasons are treated very differently in Europe - it
is often a matter of pure chance. Some are granted asylum. Some are
allowed to remain temporarily for humanitarian reasons. Others are sent
back or remain irregularly. The Dublin System continues to perplex even
our courts. We cannot leave the status and the rights of individuals to
chance. That is absurd. That is not humane. 

It is crucial to have the same procedural guarantees through the Union.
I would like to call on you, ladies and gentlemen, to assist the member
states bordering the Mediterranean in processing asylum applications
swiftly via the EU Asylum Support Office, so that refugees are not held
for a long time in overpopulated centres. Furthermore, we need an
emergency relocation mechanism and we need it immediately. 

But asylum is not the right tool to deal singlehandedly with the issue
of migration - it was never meant to fulfil this role. For instance, in
the event of a mass influx of displaced persons from conflict zones we
need to urgently consider triggering special temporary protection, a
binding mechanism for solidarity and increased use of humanitarian
visas. The European Parliament has supported substantial resettlement
from third countries for those fleeing current conflicts as a
humanitarian measure. We should also examine ways of giving people the
possibility to ask for asylum or protection from outside the EU. 

And we have to create more avenues to enter the EU legally. Europe has
always been and will continue to be a continent of immigration and
emigration. We have to face up to this reality and recognize that we
need an EU-wide system of legal migration for those who want to come and
work. Some member states urgently need migrants for their ageing
workforce, other member states don't. We have to take this reality into
consideration. Of course, having a proper migration policy as a
continent means having rules, and having fair rules means having some
limitations and priorities. United States, Canada or New Zealand have a
system of legal migration, too. A system with clear criteria on who can
come and who not. 

To sum up: Europe needs a coherent, predictable approach to asylum and
migration. The Commission’s Ten-Point-Plan, fully backed by your
Foreign and Interior Ministers last Monday, is a positive starting
point. The European Parliament now expects the Commission to submit an
ambitious and comprehensive proposal on both asylum and legal migration
policies next month. Jean-Claude Juncker, addressing the plenary some
minutes before you were elected as Commission President by the European
Parliament on 15 July last year you said that migration would be a
priority during your mandate. We expect you to deliver on your promise.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Faced with humanitarian crises of unprecedented magnitude in our direct
neighbourhood - from Libya to Ukraine, from Gaza to Iraq and Syria - due
to civil wars, conflicts and failed states, we are called upon to do
more. 

We must fight the causes of migration, not the migrants. This includes
closer cooperation with countries of origin and transit, also through
agreements on migration management and mobility partnerships. The
continued instability in Libya has allowed human trafficking to
flourish. It has become a multi-million dollar business! These criminal
traffickers are making money off other people's misery and putting their
lives at risk by sending them on the dangerous journey across the
Mediterranean in rickety boats. The human trafficking networks must be
tackled. We now have to do our utmost to fight criminal human
traffickers in our own neighbourhood too. 

But this can only be part of the solution - the traffickers will find
other routes as long as demand is strong and people feel it is their
best option. We must support the ongoing talks between the Libyan
political forces currently led under the auspices of UNSMIL and with the
involvement of the Maghreb diplomacies. Hopefully these regional and UN
efforts will lead to a Government of National Unity in Libya. This is
key to stabilize the country and the EU must be prepared to deploy
comprehensive assistance including a security sector reform.

Combating the causes for which refugees flee their home countries is of
course the right thing to aim for. Yet, one might doubt the sincerity of
this aim if at the same time international aid is cut, as happened
during the last MFF. Amongst the Parliament's group leaders today there
were calls for a fundamental increase in funding for humanitarian and
development aid as a condition for agreement on the EU's budget for
2016. Furthermore, the debate on this long-term objective must never be
used as an excuse to cover up the pressing need to provide immediate
help. 

The European Parliament believes that the EU must better connect
migration, humanitarian aid, development and security issues. We cannot
allow any more - as has been the case previously - that these different
policies undermine each other. 

Funding has to be better focused and streamlined.

Let me assure you, in the ongoing debate about our asylum and migration
policies, the European Parliament will be the voice of solidarity. We
will work constructively towards policies that are humane, realistic and
based on our European values. We will stand by your side, at this
European Council which you decided to convene, if you launch an asylum
and migration policy which responds to today's challenges humanely and
effectively. 

Thank you for your attention.

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