Failure by European governments to meet their international obligations on asylum

2.9.2015

Question for written answer E-012405-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Javi López (S&D)

The response of the European Union and its Member States to the refugee crisis is not only morally and ethically reprehensible but is also in breach of numerous international obligations. Several Member States have refused to implement the Commission's relocation and resettlement programme. Governments such as that of Spain, a country with a population of 47 million, are refusing to accept more asylum-seekers on the grounds that they lack the capacity to receive any more people. Such reactions are in breach of international treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Dublin Protocol.

1. Does the Commission consider the inaction and the reluctance displayed by certain Member States to be in breach of their international obligations?

2. What steps does the Commission intend to take to ensure full compliance by the Member States of their international obligations on asylum?