Fuldstændigt Forhandlingsreferat

Onsdag den 11. februar 2015 - Strasbourg

18. Vejen frem for Frontex og Det Europæiske Asylstøttekontor

  La Présidente. - L'ordre du jour appelle le débat sur les déclarations du Conseil et de la Commission sur l'avenir de Frontex et du Bureau européen d'appui en matière d'asile (2015/2527(RSP)).

  Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, President-in-Office of the Council. - Madam President, first of all I would like to express my deepest sadness and condolences to the families of the migrants who died of hypothermia on board Italian coastguard vessels last Monday. Unfortunately, we learned this morning that there were two other boats which sailed from Libyan shores with around 300 migrants, and that only a few have survived. I also wish to express our solidarity with the Italian authorities, which saved 106 people in the middle of the night under extreme weather conditions.

However, I do not think this tragic loss of life should hide the efforts made by Member States, Frontex and the Union. Probably we should do more and better. For this reason I thank Parliament for the opportunity today to discuss the way forward for two key Union players: the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and Frontex.

In the resolution adopted by Parliament on 17 December 2014, it rightly calls for a review of our migration policy and sets out the elements that should be part of an EU holistic approach. As the Justice and Home Affairs Council noted last October, the challenge linked to increasing migratory flows and the shifting routes of access to the EU – also as a consequence of measures taken at national level – needs to be addressed with common actions. This is even more important as these migratory flows do not only affect countries on the front line but Europe as a whole, also due to the large secondary movements taking place. In this context, agencies like EASO and Frontex have a key role to play.

On the initiative of the Presidency, increased migratory pressure was recently discussed at the informal JHA ministerial meeting in Riga. So let me share with you some ideas for making full use of the capabilities of Frontex and EASO.

Starting with EASO, in June 2014 the European Council made it clear that in the coming years the focus should be on consolidating the Common European Asylum System. With that focus in mind, the Council shares the wish of this assembly that EASO needs to play a reinforced role in supporting practical cooperation, in particular by promoting the uniform application of the asylum acquis through practical and technical support.

Action on migration and asylum within the EU must be complemented with an external dimension. In its resolution, Parliament rightly points out that external action should be part of an overall strategy in coordination with third countries. Given the volatile situation in the EU’s neighbourhood, the EU must set up cooperation with third countries. EASO can provide support to strengthen asylum and reception capacity, especially in Middle Eastern and North African countries. It also facilitates resettlement and support for the implementation of regional protection and development programmes. In doing so, EASO should work in close cooperation with UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration.

Furthermore, given the high migratory and asylum influx, there will be a continued need for practical support to Member States subject to particular pressure. This will require EASO to provide the necessary operational support, for instance by coordinating Asylum Support Teams. By providing such support, EASO puts intra-EU solidarity into practice.

Finally, EASO should develop further as a centre of expertise in the field of asylum. By strengthening EASO’s information and analysis support, the EU and its Member States will be better placed to address future migratory inflow. In particular, EASO has to further develop the mechanism for early warning, preparedness and crisis management: a new task assigned to it by the Dublin III Regulation.

With this expertise, EASO can also develop innovative solidarity tools for coping with situations of particular pressure. An example is the pilot project on supported processing of asylum applications. This pilot enhances mutual trust among Member State authorities, which is essential for considering future steps in the EU asylum policy.

Now turning to Frontex, since its establishment in 2005 the agency has made a major contribution to the management of external borders. It has gradually increased its operational support to Member States and has taken a leading role in providing risk analysis. Its model of joint operations has also been successfully used by Member States, and its training activities have contributed to building a common border-guard culture across Europe.

Those achievements have led the co-legislators to agree to widen and reinforce the mandate of the agency and its capacities by amending the Frontex Regulation in 2011 and by investing the agency with the role of central hub of the new European Border Surveillance System, Eurosur. I would also like to recall its potential role in the framework of the new Schengen evaluation mechanism.

What more can be done by Frontex, in particular to support Member States in the Mediterranean? Member States remain responsible for the control and surveillance of their external borders, and Frontex only has a coordinating role in terms of EU operational cooperation. Thus we should in the first place ask the Member States concerned what their specific needs are and what is the real added value of the agency’s operational support that can be achieved.

Frontex could then provide its support by organising more targeted joint operations, connecting national priorities and EU objectives, strengthening the spirit of operational solidarity, assisting with specialised capacities and contributing to building national capacities. In the current situation, it appears imperative that Frontex increase its reactivity towards the rapid evolution in migration flows, making full use of the Eurosur system, including the provisions of inter-agency cooperation.

Because the roots of migration are far away from the EU’s borders, it is absolutely necessary to enhance cooperation with countries of origin and transit. In that regard, Frontex has the possibility of deploying its own Immigration Liaison Officers, who could become an information hub in key third countries. Frontex could also help third countries to manage their borders in a more secure way, in accordance with international law standards, by providing technical assistance and promoting regional cooperation on borders.

In the context of the long-term development of Frontex, the European Council in its June 2014 conclusions indicated that ‘the possibility of setting up a European system of border guards to enhance the control and surveillance capabilities at our external borders should be studied’. The relevant working party within the Council has discussed the study carried out for the Commission on the feasibility of a European system of border guards. It now awaits the external evaluation commissioned by the Frontex Management Board as well as possible further action by the Commission.

Both EASO and Frontex have managed to build up organisations capable of delivering results. EASO’s support improves the quality of national asylum systems. This brings us closer to the ideal of a Common European Asylum System in which applications for international protection are treated in the same manner irrespective of where in the EU they are lodged.

By delivering operational support to Member States, Frontex strengthens the management of the EU’s external borders. In the light of these achievements, the Council commends EASO and Frontex for the results obtained over the past years and encourages them to continue supporting practical cooperation in the EU in the years to come.

  Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission. - Madam President, when I heard this morning that the representative of UNHCR in Lampedusa said that possibly more than three hundred people had died in the last couple of days trying to save their lives by crossing the Mediterranean I thought, do we still have words to express what we feel when these things happen? Are our senses becoming numb, are we becoming involuntarily indifferent to what is happening?

My reaction to that is we can never let that happen. We can never become indifferent to that level of human suffering and we will always be under an obligation to try to find a solution even though a solution will have to be comprehensive and will not only be controlling our borders in a more efficient way. It will always have to entail taking away the reasons why people feel they need to flee, knowing all too well that they risk dying on a boat somewhere between Africa or the Arab world and Europe.

The price that people are prepared to pay is so high that I think we need to refocus on our obligation also to take away the reason why people feel the need to flee.

At the same time I think it is necessary that we discuss the way forward for the European External Borders Agency FRONTEX and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). We are confronted with a twofold challenge. Internally the common European asylum system must be implemented in a coherent and effective way by all participating Member States and associated countries. Externally we are confronted with the highest migratory pressures at the EU external borders since the 1990s and all EU Member States are affected. The time is gone that we could just leave that problem in the hands of a few Member States and ignore it.

EASO and FRONTEX will have a prominent role in the implementation of the EU agenda on migration which is currently developed as announced in the Commission Work Programme for 2015. Since they were established both agencies have faced the increasing challenge of supporting Member States, especially those with high migratory pressures, while having limited resources at their disposal.

The Commission is very grateful for the support provided by the European Parliament and the Council in the development of both agencies and for ensuring they have the necessary funding. The management of migratory flows to the EU, including the protection of refugees, requires close collaboration both at policy level where the EU institutions operate, and in terms of practical cooperation, implementation and support from EASO and FRONTEX.

The establishment of close and well-functioning practical cooperation and the continuous exchange of best practices is of utmost importance to build mutual trust between Member States and between the Member States and the EU. Here the agencies are playing a key role.

Let me now say a few words about each agency in particular. Concerning EASO, the consolidation and implementation of the common European asylum system has the highest priority for the Commission in the coming years. EASO will continue to play an important role in this endeavour. It will help improve the quality of asylum decision-making and harmonise practices across the EU, by monitoring the quality of asylum decisions and ensuring that Member States are able to access up-to-date country of origin information to assist them in their assessments.

EASO further needs to contribute to enhancing the capacity of national asylum systems with training and exchanges of best practices between the Member States. With an unstable geopolitical environment and evolving threats, EASO is playing and will play an important role in crisis management; for example, it played a useful part in the Taskforce Mediterranean. Our objectives cannot be successfully met without further engaging third countries and better combining our external policy instruments. In that context, EASO’s external activities are part of a broad range of EU external relations instruments.

On FRONTEX, firstly I should stress it has only a supporting function in coordinating operational cooperation between the Member States, especially in support of the requesting Member States facing the highest migratory pressure. FRONTEX devotes its resources to the hotspots and shifts those resources around as pressure shifts from one section of the external border to another. This fire brigade role is important for emergency support but it cannot be the only function of the agency. FRONTEX needs also to provide structural support to all Member States to help them better control all external borders of the EU. Examples are training of border guards and developing tools such as Eurosur which contribute to saving lives at sea.

Since the last revision of the FRONTEX mandate in 2011, great progress has been made regarding fully respecting fundamental rights during FRONTEX coordinated joint operations. A code of conduct has been established. All offices participating in joint operations are obliged to have the appropriate training concerning the rights of apprehended persons and their access to asylum. Furthermore, where there is proof of the violation of fundamental rights the executive director of the agency can suspend or terminate the ongoing joint operation.

In line with the respective mandates of the agencies, the cooperation between Europol and FRONTEX is ongoing and will be further enhanced in the near future, especially regarding the common fight against the use of ghost ships to smuggle persons into the EU. Here, I think, a number of very, very cynical criminals prey on people in desperate situations and they need to be tackled.

The agency launched an external evaluation in 2014 which covers all of these points. It is expected to be ready by the summer of this year. A study on the feasibility of a system of European border guards has also been carried out for the Commission by an external contractor. We have made the study public.

Based on the findings of these two studies the Commission intends to initiate a debate on how to further strengthen the agency which will have an important role to play in the coming years. I look forward to hearing your views.

  Monika Hohlmeier, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Ich begrüße ganz herzlich die Ratspräsidentschaft und freue mich sehr, dass der Vizepräsident der Europäischen Kommission – Sie, Herr Timmermans – unter uns ist, weil wir das Thema so aktuell eigentlich nicht haben wollten. Wir wollten nicht in einer Situation stehen, in der wiederum Hunderte von Menschen – deren Zahl wir nicht einmal mehr genau überprüfen können, nicht genau wissen – im Mittelmeer ertrunken sind und die uns zeigen, an welche Grenzen wir geraten sind.

Ich hätte deshalb vor allem folgende Fragen: Frontex und EASO benötigen dringend Unterstützung beim Ausbau ihrer Strukturen, sowohl personell als auch technisch als auch in der Schnelligkeit der Zulieferung von Expertenpersonal aus den Mitgliedstaaten. Ich darf die Kommission sehr herzlich darum bitten, diesem Wunsch auch im Rahmen der nächsten Haushaltsverhandlungen Rechnung zu tragen, weil diese Agenturen sonst wirklich an die Grenze dessen kommen, was sie zu tun vermögen. Ich möchte mich auch bei beiden Agenturen herzlichst dafür bedanken, wie aktiv und intensiv sie arbeiten.

Als Zweites stellt sich für mich die Frage, ob wir auf hoher See nicht wieder so etwas benötigen wie eine militärische Gemeinschaftsaktion, um auf der einen Seite Menschen zu retten, um aber auf der anderen Seite auch die Menschenhändler zurückzudrängen, und auch dringend andere Formen der Kooperation mit den Drittstaaten. Denn wenn mittlerweile der IS Teile der libyschen Häfen beherrscht und die Menschen auf Boote zwingt, mit denen sie definitiv nicht ankommen können, sondern jämmerlich ertrinken müssen, dann ist das ein unhaltbarer Zustand, den Frontex und EASO nicht mehr ändern können; wir benötigen vielmehr anderweitige Instrumente, die letztendlich in der Dimension der Außenpolitik liegen. Und wir müssen auch den Kampf gegen die Menschenhändler dringendst verstärken und hierbei die Instrumente von Europol schärfen, um dagegen vorzugehen.

  Claude Moraes, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, last Monday I think the number that was cited by Frontex, the agency, was 106 lives saved. Of course, every day the European Asylum Support Office does its dedicated work.

I was involved in the trialogues and negotiations for the Asylum Support Office and many colleagues here were involved in Frontex, a serious committee trying to work with these serious people and serious agencies. Over 14 years since these agencies were created, the estimate (and it is only an estimate) is that over 22 000 lives have been lost. In the last few months, it is not lost lives, it is a more brutal form of trafficking – these ghost ships, a much more calculated and cynical way of killing people when they cannot get their money. So let us be very clear: there are some people in this Chamber who will want to talk about a more existential threat to immigration, and they will want to talk about immigration in their own national spheres. But let us be very clear – of all the lives that have been lost, when we are talking about Frontex and the agencies, we in Parliament have been doing very meticulous work, and I have seen that work. There are good people in these agencies, and I have met them. So let us be very clear about the Council.

I was in Riga recently, and I heard one Member State saying that (I have just written it down because I wrote it at the time) resourcing further Council cooperation in the Mediterranean will act as a push factor. Now the issue is that saving lives in the Mediterranean is a resource-rich issue which goes far beyond Frontex and the Asylum Support Office. The Asylum Support Office is an intelligence-led, information-rich office. Frontex is an agency which spots people who are dying and who are potentially going to die in a fairly small-scale operation.

Our assets are small and limited: I have seen that. So for the Council, it has to do its job and it has to do it collectively, and we need the Council to do its job and the Commission to help us do it.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Alessandra Mussolini (PPE), domanda "cartellino blu". – Io vorrei purtroppo dare i numeri di un'altra strage, la strage di due giorni fa. Sono circa 420 le vittime accertate, hanno trovato dei barconi vuoti. Allora chiedo al presidente della commissione LIBE se ha intenzione, come spero, di avere un focus permanente su questa questione, che è certamente legata all'immigrazione, certamente legata al diritto d'asilo. Quindi chiedo proprio a lui e alla commissione LIBE che siano attenti quotidianamente sul tema.

  Claude Moraes (S&D), blue-card answer. – I do apologise, I got a bit emotional and forgot I just had two minutes. The question of numbers is a really pertinent question, because the issue is that the numbers we get are secondary sources, and I think we just cannot tell who is dying. These are coming from the agencies, but many of them are coming from the Italian coastguard itself.

I think the pertinent issue is that we are not getting the numbers of people who are actually dying, and there are thousands of people dying who we never hear of in the Mediterranean. His Holiness alluded to this in his speech to the Chamber.

So people should focus on those who we never hear of who die unknown, and I think this is the real tragedy of the Mediterranean.

  Timothy Kirkhope, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Madam President, this is not a new issue of course. We have talked about it here for many months. In the 1990s, I myself was the UK Minister for Immigration and Asylum and I recognise the sensitivities attached to the whole issue.

Of course we do not want to repeat ourselves, but it really is, despite good intentions, enormously challenging now. The same concerns are in place. The situation faced by the European Union as a whole is a very serious one regarding immigration and asylum. Of course the European Asylum Support Office and the Frontex Agency have a large and important role to play in the challenges we face to manage migration into the EU and to secure our external border.

These are two agencies whose work I support, but my overall concerns remain the same as ever. More must be done to assist Member States who receive large numbers of migrants. Too many migrants slip through the net unprocessed. They remain in Europe, vulnerable to exploitation, and are undocumented. The terrible news of the further 300 fatalities underlines why more must be done to save the lives of those who tragically go to sea seeking a new life, and much more must be done to catch, detain and prosecute the actual perpetrators of the human trafficking itself. More must also be done to assist Member States in the integration and resettlement of asylum seekers, and more must be done by the Commission to ensure that those countries where migrants first arrive can properly deal with them, as soon as they arrive, in the right conditions. I am saddened that sometimes, particularly with children, they remain very vulnerable in the process that takes place.

The Commission needs to offer a clear strategy and a clear way forward so this Parliament and European citizens can again regain confidence that the European asylum system is working fairly and efficiently and that it benefits both those who genuinely seek asylum and all the citizens of the EU itself.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  William (The Earl of) Dartmouth (EFDD), blue-card question. – Mr Kirkhope, would you agree with me that the trigger-happy UK government which intervened in Libya and wanted to intervene in Syria, that the policies of that government is a major contribution to the tragedy of the Mediterranean?

  Timothy Kirkhope (ECR), blue-card answer. – No, Lord Dartmouth, I would not. I think that the interventions and the international scene of the British government, certainly in recent times, have been to try and help humanity, to try and actually deal with despots and tyrants which the world needs to deal with and where we need a courageous government to take such actions.

Furthermore, it does seem to me, Lord Dartmouth, that the progressive view of the British government to those who travel and migrants generally is something that we should be very proud of as British subjects, and I am very sorry that you have such a reluctance to admit that pride.

(Applause)

  Cecilia Wikström, för ALDE-gruppen. – Fru talman! Sorgen ligger tung över Medelhavet idag precis som mörkret över vattnet, för idag har vi nåtts igen av en liknande nyhet som vi har nåtts av alltför många gånger. Fler än 300 människor kan ha drunknat när båtarna sjönk. Människor dör inför våra ögon trots politiska löften – inte minst vid Lampedusa för 1,5 år sedan – om att ingen mer ska behöva dö på det här sättet. Men tragedin upprepar sig igen och igen, och det tycks som om det är någon annans ansvar.

Många av oss har ställt frågor till våra släktingar som levde under andra världskriget: ”Varför gjorde ni inte mer för att hjälpa? Såg ni inte att judarna förföljdes?” Och vi har mötts av blickar som har slagits ner: ”Jo, vi visste men vad kunde vi göra?” På samma sätt är jag rädd att mina barnbarn i framtiden kommer att fråga mig: ”Såg inte ni i Europas institutioner att människor flydde brinnande krig? Fattade ni inte att de var på Medelhavet i sjöodugliga båtar och så många drunknade?” Jo, vi vet.

Men de utmaningar vi står inför är gemensamma, vi måste hantera dem tillsammans. Frontex borde få ett mandat, de borde få medel och materiel att hantera liknande operationer som Mare Nostrum klarade av – och för det borde vi tacka Italien om och om igen, för vad de gjorde.

Samtidigt borde vi skapa lagliga, säkra vägar till EU så att människor inte behöver vara i händerna på skrupellösa människosmugglare och göra den livsfarliga resan över Medelhavet. Vi borde ta emot fler kvotflyktingar och erbjuda humanitära visum för att komma hit och på plats ansöka om asyl. I den processen behöver vi EASO. EU skulle ha agerat för länge sedan. Våra gärningar, men också vår likgiltighet, kommer att döma oss alla en dag.

\*(Talaren samtyckte till att besvara en fråga (blått kort) i enlighet med artikel 162.8 i arbetsordningen).

  Gianluca Buonanno (NI), Domanda "cartellino blu". – Volevo fare una domanda al collega che è appena intervenuto. Io sono italiano, sono stato a Lampedusa più volte come parlamentare italiano e, sentendo le sue parole come tante altre qua all'interno di quest'Aula, le chiedo: ma non è l'ipocrisia totale? Non crede che continuare a fare interventi dicendo che sono morte 300 persone è solo ipocrisia? L'anno scorso a Lampedusa sono arrivati tutti a dire che si doveva cambiare e l'Europa ha fatto zero. Non è ipocrisia secondo lei questo? Non è fare lacrime di coccodrillo questo?

  Cecilia Wikström (ALDE), svar ("blått kort"). – Kommissionen borde nu ta sig samman och komma med tydliga, raka besked om hur vi ska se till att den här fruktansvärda situationen inte upprepar sig. Vi vet att det är nästan 4 000 människor som har dött i Medelhavet det senaste året.

Påven var här. Han sa till oss att Medelhavet håller på att bli en anonym gigantisk kyrkogård, och jag upprepar: Våra gärningar, ditt ansvar och mitt ansvar, kommissionens och rådets ansvar är att agera. För våra gärningar och vår likgiltighet kommer att förfölja oss tills dess att människor får en säker väg hit.

  Barbara Spinelli, a nome del gruppo GUE/NGL. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le notizie dal Mediterraneo sono tragiche: fra 300 e 400 morti come nel 2013 a Lampedusa. Ormai i fatti parlano da sé. La fine di Mare Nostrum produce ancora una volta disastri umanitari e la missione Frontex, che era stata descritta come risolutiva, mi riferisco a Triton, si rivela quella che è: una falsa sostituzione e un fallimento radicale.

È il motivo per cui non ritengo, nelle presenti circostanze, che Frontex debba ricevere ulteriori risorse. A dispetto di regolamenti troppo vaghi e non applicati, il suo compito è solo il pattugliamento delle frontiere e non la ricerca e il salvataggio di fuggitivi da guerre e caos che si estendono anche per nostra responsabilità.

Frontex mette addirittura in guardia il governo italiano, ricordando che i soccorsi da lei coordinati sono vietati oltre le 30 miglia dalla costa. I naufragi di questi giorni sono tutti avvenuti in alto mare, presso le coste libiche, dove appunto operava Mare Nostrum. La verità è che Mare Nostrum, nonostante le dichiarazioni delle autorità europee e italiane, non è mai stato sostituito.

Due cose dovremmo a questo punto chiedere come Parlamento. Primo, che Frontex non opponga ostacoli quando è chiamata a soccorrere oltre le 30 miglia. Secondo, che l'Europa si decida a sostenere finanziariamente la restaurazione di missioni come Mare Nostrum. Sia l'Alto Commissariato dell'ONU sia il Consiglio d'Europa hanno dichiarato che Triton non è all'altezza. Cosa aspettiamo per dire la stessa cosa? Oggi, il Presidente del Senato italiano, Pietro Grasso, ha detto: "agire ora è già troppo tardi".

  Ska Keller, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Herr Vizepräsident, Sie haben gesagt, Europa darf solche Tragödien nicht zulassen. Wie oft haben wir das aber hier schon gehört? Nicht erst seit Lampedusa vor anderthalb Jahren sterben die Menschen im Mittelmeer. Und es sterben viele – allein dieser Tage 300 Menschen. Wer weiß, vielleicht sogar mehr. Aber statt endlich nach einer Lösung zu suchen, leiern die Innenminister immer wieder dasselbe herunter: mehr Geld für Frontex, mehr Grenzüberwachung, mehr Festung Europa. Aber das ist die falsche Antwort auf die Krise, in der wir uns befinden. Wir brauchen nicht mehr Abschottung, wir brauchen nicht mehr Überwachung. Was wir stattdessen brauchen, ist eine europäische Antwort auf die Seenotrettungskrise, die wir haben. Wir brauchen ein europäisches Mare Nostrum. Triton hilft uns nicht weiter; das ist ein Abwehrprogramm. Wir brauchen ein europäisches Seenotrettungsprogramm! Herr Vizepräsident, wo bleibt das?

Kriminellen Schleppern muss natürlich das Handwerk gelegt werden. Wir müssen sie bekämpfen, aber eben nicht die Flüchtlinge. Und wenn wir nur alleine Schlepper bekämpfen, dann bringen wir Flüchtlinge in einen Teufelskreis hinein. Denn wenn wir uns abschotten, wenn wir die Schlepper bekämpfen, dann müssen Flüchtlinge weitere, gefährlichere Wege auf sich nehmen. Das können wir nur dadurch ändern, dass wir endlich legale, sichere Zugangswege für Flüchtlinge schaffen. Wir müssen die Fähren öffnen für die Flüchtlinge, damit sie nicht länger auf kleine Schlauchboote müssen. Das ist das, was wir tun müssen, Europa! Darauf brauchen wir Antworten von der Kommission, aber genauso von den Mitgliedstaaten, die momentan viel zu wenig tun, weder beim Resettlement noch sonst bei der Aufnahme von Flüchtlingen.

(Die Rednerin ist damit einverstanden, eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“ gemäß Artikel 162 Absatz 8 der Geschäftsordnung zu beantworten.)

  Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE), otázka položená zvednutím modré karty. – Paní kolegyně, děkuju za Vaše vystoupení, myslím, že máte hodně pravdy, ale chtěl bych se zeptat. Existuje vůbec nějaký jednoduchý recept, jak bojovat s převaděčstvím? Můžete mi dát odpověď na tuto otázku?

  Ska Keller (Verts/ALE), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Ich denke, die angemessene Antwort auf Schleppertum ist, ihnen die Geschäftsgrundlage wegzunehmen. Das bedeutet eben, dass Flüchtlinge andere Möglichkeiten haben, dass sie legale, sichere Zugangsmöglichkeiten haben, dass wir sie nicht zwingen, auf die Boote zu gehen und ihr Leben zu riskieren, nachdem sie gerade vor Krieg und Verfolgung geflohen sind. Wir brauchen mehr Resettlement, wir brauchen legale Einreisemöglichkeiten für syrische Flüchtlinge zum Beispiel, aber nicht nur. Wir brauchen humanitäre Visa, wir brauchen Fluchtkorridore.

All das sind Möglichkeiten, die auch bereits mit dem EU-Aquis möglich sind. Wir sollten nicht so tun, als hätten wir da keine Antworten drauf. Sicherlich nicht die Antwort auf alles, aber auf viele Sachen, die wir jetzt schon tun können, auch hier als Europäisches Parlament.

(Die Rednerin ist damit einverstanden, eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“ gemäß Artikel 162 Absatz 8 der Geschäftsordnung zu beantworten.)

  Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D), question "carton bleu". – Madame la Présidente, j'ai une question à poser à Madame Keller. Ma question est a suivante: comment l'Union européenne doit-elle finalement s'y prendre afin de différencier les migrants économiques des migrants qui cherchent la protection internationale?

  Ska Keller (Verts/ALE), blue-card answer. – We have a very clear role for refugees. We have the Geneva Convention and indeed, as I said, we should have a proper way for them to enter. We need to have a European asylum system but – I agree – we also need to have a way for people who flee for economic reasons, who are looking for a better future – because that is also something Europe is about, we want to create a better future for ourselves. Other people also want to have a part of this better future but we do not have any possibilities for migrants to come here. This needs to change, and here it is the Member States which need to open up to allow legal migration to the European Union. They should not block things like the Seasonal Workers Directive and we also need to reform the Blue Card to make it more open for people.

  Ignazio Corrao, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, eccoci qua a discutere dell'ennesima tragedia: 300-400 morti nel Canale di Sicilia. Ormai non si può più parlare neanche di una tragedia, perché è una tragedia permanente. Allora io mi chiedo: noi di cosa stiamo discutendo se, volta dopo volta, anno dopo anno, ci ritroviamo sempre nella stessa situazione? Perché non riusciamo a prendere nessuna misura, nessuna decisione che sia concreta. Mi fa piacere che ci siano qua il Consiglio e la Commissione, che parlano di misure congiunte, di un'attività europea che possa veramente contrastare questo tipo di tragedia e soprattutto possa contrastare la tratta di uomini, perché di questo si tratta.

Però sono parole, perché quello che in realtà succede è che si continua a vedere in maniera disgiunta, quindi col metodo intergovernativo, il discorso dell'immigrazione e che c'è un totale disinteresse ad affrontare il fenomeno delle criminalità organizzate che fanno delle tratte di uomini miliardarie e che fanno sì che si verifichino queste tragedie. Noi dobbiamo cercare di lavorare nel garantire dei corridoi umanitari a chi scappa via dalle guerre sicure e nel contrastare la criminalità organizzata che specula in maniera veramente pesante su queste tratte.

  Ελευθέριος Συναδινός (NI). - Κυρία Πρόεδρε, η FRONTEX δεν έχει παρελθόν, παρόν και, πολύ περισσότερο, μέλλον. Η σύσταση της ως Ευρωπαϊκού Οργανισμού για τη διαχείριση της συνεργασίας στα εξωτερικά σύνορα των κρατών μελών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ενώσεως προσδοκούσε οφέλη, αλλά η ως τώρα επιχειρησιακή της αποτελεσματικότητα κρίνεται ανεπαρκής.

Για παράδειγμα, στη χώρα μου την Ελλάδα, από επίσημα στοιχεία που παρουσιάστηκαν από τον εκτελεστικό διευθυντή του Οργανισμού, Ilkka Laitinen, παρατηρήθηκε εντυπωσιακή αύξηση των παρανόμων διελεύσεων για το έτος 2013. Επιπρόσθετα, σε σύγκριση με το 2012, ο αριθμός των παράνομων μεταναστών παρουσίασε αύξηση κατά 48%, αριθμός που δεν μπορεί να αντέξει και να απορροφηθεί από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση.

Η FRONTEX, όπως και οι Συνθήκες Δουβλίνου ΙΙ και Σένγκεν, δημιουργήθηκαν για μια περίοδο ηρεμίας. Αυτό έχει σαν αποτέλεσμα σε περίοδο έντασης η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να βρεθεί απροετοίμαστη και να αντιμετωπίσει τη λαθρομετανάστευση με νευρικότητα, σπασμωδικές κινήσεις και όχι σαν ασύμμετρη απειλή. Είναι πια καιρός να αναθεωρηθούν προς το συμφέρον των λαών.

  Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz (PPE). - Az embercsempészet és az illegális bevándorlás az Európai Uniónak az egyik legjelentősebb problémája, aminek a megoldására világos és egyértelmű választ kell adni, és meg kell fogalmazni azt a feladatsort, amit most már végre kell hajtanunk. Sajnos az elmúlt időszaknak a terroreseményei, és ez a terrorfenyegetettség, ami ma is létezik egy picit új aspektusba is helyezte ezt a helyzetet.

Azt kell gondolnom, hogy tudunk eddiginél világosabb és sokkal határozottabb válaszokat is adni az illegális bevándorlásra, és az ezt megelőző embercsempészetnek a gazdasági vonatkozásaira is. Nemcsak a halálhajókról van szó, de minden esemény, ami a Földközi-tengeren történik, az borzasztóan súlyos tragédia.

Arról is szó van, hogy vannak olyan országok, amelyek tranzitországgá válnak. Magyarország egyike ezen helyeknek. Egy olyan kereszteződésben, egy olyan migrációs útvonalban fekszik, ahol éppen az történt, hogy megtöbbszöröződött az illegálisan bevándorlóknak a száma. 2012 óta meghússzorozódott ez a szám, és most már elérte a tavalyi szintnek a felét az első két hónapban. Számos intézkedést tettünk, menekülttáborokat hoztunk létre, technikai átcsoportosításokat, határőrség megerősítése, rendőrség megerősítése, képzés, információs rendszer. De ez önmagában mind kevés, nem oldja meg a problémát.

A legsúlyosabb dolog, hogy 40%-a a menekülteknek gyermek, akik a legvédtelenebbek, és a legkiszolgáltatottabbak. Eddig a legszegényebb sorsúak érkeztek Szíriából, Afganisztánból és Koszovóból. De most már nem, most már érettségivel, felsőfokú végzettséggel rendelkezők érkeznek. Közös válaszokat kell adnunk, határozott állásfoglalást kell tennünk. Ezt várom a mai vitától és a Bizottságtól.

(A felszólaló hozzájárul egy, az eljárási szabályzat 162. cikkének (8) bekezdése értelmében feltett kék kártyás kérdés megválaszolásához).

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE), pitanje koje je podizanjem plave kartice postavio. – Gospođo predsjednice, poštovana gospođo ja sam Vas pažljivo slušao i primijetio da brinete istu brigu koju i ja imam, a to su tranzicijski putovi koji su praktički u srcu Europe. Mađarska i Hrvatska su takvi primjeri.

Pitam Vas mislite li kao što ja mislim da treba jako angažirati Frontex na našim granicama, u slučaju Hrvatske prema Bosni i Hercegovini i prema Srbiji, pomoći ljudima naravno u smislu azila i koridora, ali isto tako i u smislu opasnosti koja prijeti?

  Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz (PPE), Kékkártyás válasz. – Az illegálisan menekültek, a bevándorlók Szerbia felől érkeznek. Nem Horvátországból érkeznek, hanem Szerbia felől érkeznek. Ezért gondolom, hogy fontos pontosan a Frontexnek a megerősítése és a kiteljesítése. És ez nemcsak egy tagállamnak a feladata, ez a mi közös feladatunk és közös felelősségünk is. Ezért gondolom, hogy a Bizottsággal együtt egy határozott ütemtervet, munkatervet, feladattervet kell kidolgozni, hogy hatékonyabbak legyünk, hogy ne halálhajókról beszéljünk, ne arról, hogy meghússzorozódik az illegálisan menekültek száma, hanem arról, hogy megoldottunk egy problémát.

  Monika Flašíková Beňová (S&D) - Téma európskej azylovej politiky je veľmi citlivou témou, aj v kontexte predchádzajúcej témy, pán podpredseda, pretože práve imigračná politika a imigranti sú nábojmi pre politikov alebo tých, ktorí by sa radi dostali do rôznych parlamentov a zneužívajú postavenie týchto ľudí, ako možno aj našu nedokonalú imigračnú politiku.

Potrebujeme preto nový spoločný azylový systém. Nie je predsa možné, aby žiadatelia o azyl mali pri splnení rovnakých podmienok tak veľmi rozdielne šance na jeho získanie v rôznych členských štátoch. Nesmieme zabúdať ani na to, že musíme chrániť svoje hranice a aktívne bojovať proti nelegálnej činnosti, ktorá úzko súvisí práve s migráciou.

Agentúra FRONTEX si stanovila veľmi ambiciózne ciele v oblasti riešenia problémov v Stredomorí a zabezpečenia kontroly vonkajších hraníc. Som presvedčená, že ak chceme, aby sa tieto ciele dosiahli, musíme navýšiť aj súčasný rozpočet pre agentúru FRONTEX, aby sme posilnili jej činnosť. Obyvatelia členských štátov musia mať pocit bezpečia a musia byť presvedčení, že naše spoločné hranice sú dôkladne zabezpečené, a že nedovolíme zločincom a obchodníkom s ľuďmi beztrestne prekračovať hranice.

  Helga Stevens (ECR). - Voorzitter, een betere communicatie tussen de bestaande EU-agentschappen is belangrijk om informatie-uitwisseling en samenwerking tot stand te brengen.

In dit kader dient de operationele capaciteit van Europol beter te worden benut. Frontex moet daarnaast ook een grotere rol toebedeeld krijgen. Niet enkel in het kader van het beschermen van de Europese buitengrenzen, maar ook bij het veilig onderscheppen van migranten uit Noord-Afrika. Dat is cruciaal voor onze interne veiligheid, maar uiteraard ook voor de veiligheid van de vluchtelingen en het beheer van de instroom van de vluchtelingen. Daarnaast ondersteunt EASO verder de lidstaten die onder hevige druk komen te staan door de massale instroom van vluchtelingen en helpt ze bij de nakoming van hun Europese en internationale verplichtingen.

Maar de asielbehandeling door Griekenland laat zoveel te wensen over dat een terugkeer onder de Dublin-regels op mensrechtelijke bezwaren stuit. Het gevolg daarvan is dat bepaalde EU-landen al vier jaar lang niemand meer terugsturen naar Griekenland. Het is dus heel duidelijk dat het systeem niet werkt. En mijn vraag is: hoe moeten we nu verder? Graag een concreet antwoord van de Commissie. Hoe lossen we dit probleem op?

Elnökváltás: GÁLL-PELCZ ILDIKÓ
alelnök

  Angelika Mlinar (ALDE). - Frau Präsidentin, Herr Kommissar, Frau Kalniņa-Lukaševica! Die derzeitige Situation ruft uns täglich und heute wieder schmerzhaft in Erinnerung, dass wir endlich ein funktionierendes Management für eine Migrations- und Asylpolitik auf europäischer Ebene brauchen. Die Migrationsströme befinden sich in ständiger Veränderung, und wir können und dürfen einfach nicht mehr nur auf wiederkehrende Katastrophen reagieren. Unsere Prioritäten sollten und müssten ein gemeinsames europäisches Asylsystem und eine bessere Grenzverwaltung sein.

EASO und Frontex sind zwei wichtige Instrumente, um von dem derzeitigen Flickwerk an Maßnahmen zu einer soliden gemeinsamen Migrations- und Asylpolitik zu gelangen. Diese beiden Institutionen sollten in Zukunft enger zusammenarbeiten und sich auf operative Maßnahmen fokussieren. Wenn wir das Ziel eines offenen und sicheren Europas erreichen wollen, dann sind die derzeitigen Instrumente einfach nicht ausreichend. Daher müssen wir die Befugnisse von EASO und Frontex überarbeiten, überdenken und ihre Effektivität stärken.

  Malin Björk (GUE/NGL). - Fru talman! Jag ska vara tydlig. EU:s migrations- och flyktingpolitik är en katastrof. Vi har byggt en fästning och som vid alla fästningar så stupar folk vid dess murar. Vad vi borde diskutera här och nu är hur Europa kan ta ett större ansvar när vi har en flyktingsituation som inte har varit värre sedan andra världskriget.

Istället för att diskutera livräddning i Medelhavet och lagliga asylvägar så diskuterar vi utökade resurser till Frontex och Eurosur. Det är en skam därför att dessa bägge två är del av detta fästning Europa. Att använda döden i Medelhavet som en hävstång för mer medel, mer pengar till Frontex, tycker jag är en skam. Jag motsätter mig mer pengar till Frontex eller ett Triton 1, 2, 3, 4. Frontex är inte och kommer aldrig att bli en livräddande insats, det är en gränspolis och en myndighet för gränskontroll.

Vi behöver ett utökat europeiskt ansvar för Search and rescue i Medelhavet, vi behöver lagliga asylvägar. Vi vill se ett Mare Nostrum Plus men det kan inte, som liberalerna sa här, byggas på Frontex. Vi ville inte ha ett Frontex Plus vi vill ha ett Mare Nostrum Plus. Så jag frågar kommissionen och rådet: När kommer ni att komma tillbaka med verkliga åtgärder som sätter stopp för döden i Medelhavet och som inte bygger på fästning Europas grundstenar?

\*(Talaren samtyckte till att besvara en fråga (blått kort) i enlighet med artikel 162.8 i arbetsordningen).

  Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D), blue-card question. – In fact, I would like to ask our colleague who has already said that Frontex is not saving lives and that Frontex is a border police: what is your opinion, considering you know about the cooperation between Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office?

  Malin Björk (GUE/NGL), blue-card answer. – I think that the cooperation between the different agencies is one thing. What we should be discussing here is the kind of activities that we have to build up and which could be an answer to the deaths in the Mediterranean. Frontex – and, I am sorry to say, to a limited extent EASO – is not part of the answer. We want to see Mare Nostrum Plus, not Frontex Plus. So, regardless of how great the coordination between these actors is, they are part of Fortress Europe, a fortress that is not actually saving lives but taking lives.

  Judith Sargentini (Verts/ALE). - Voorzitter, afgelopen Kerstmis zei de Nederlandse staatssecretaris, mijnheer Teeven, dat het niet de taak van Europa was om mensen te redden uit de Middellandse Zee. Ook zei hij dat hij niet extra mensen uit Syrische vluchtelingenkampen wilde opnemen in Nederland, want dat zou maar concurreren met de vluchtelingen die al in Nederland zijn en die ook graag prettig willen wonen.

Als ik vluchteling was en ik mocht kiezen tussen een grote boot, die we nu spookschip noemen, of een klein rubberbootje, dan wist ik het wel, dan stapte ik op die grote boot. En wat dit allemaal laat zien, is dat er één ding echt niet werkt en dat is grenscontrole. Want smokkelaars zijn ons altijd te slim af en vluchtelingen zijn altijd op zoek naar een manier voor een veilig heenkomen.

Dus we kunnen hier wel praten over Frontex, maar we moeten hier eigenlijk praten over ruimhartig herverstigen en toegang tot veilige plekken, ook in Europa.

  Laura Ferrara (EFDD). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, l'ennesima tragedia annunciata ed evitabile: 300 morti, 29 dei quali morti assiderati per l'inadeguatezza dei mezzi con i quali sono stati soccorsi. Siamo qua ad esprimere la nostra solidarietà, a manifestare il nostro cordoglio, ma potremmo fare molto di più. Potremmo e dovremmo, perché ha senso la nostra presenza qui, in questo Parlamento, nella misura in cui poniamo in essere delle azioni concrete. Abbiamo la responsabilità e il dovere, morale e giuridico, di fare qualcosa in più.

Allora, come membro della commissione LIBE, credo che si debba dare immediata attuazione alla risoluzione che abbiamo votato due mesi fa. Sono trascorsi due mesi da quando la risoluzione è stata votata in questa plenaria e approvata e si giace ancora nell'immobilismo più totale.

Dalla Commissione mi aspetto delle proposte, delle misure concrete per una migliore gestione dei flussi migratori, onde evitare di ritrovarci ancora qui a chiedere aiuto, a manifestare solidarietà, senza poi un nulla di fatto. Si avverte inoltre l'esigenza, l'urgenza, la necessità di regole chiare e uniformi a livello europeo anche a tutela di quei soggetti particolarmente vulnerabili come i minori, che molto spesso si ritrovano a scomparire nel nulla, nelle more della richiesta di protezione internazionale. Dobbiamo dare una maggiore tutela ai minori e alle donne.

Se l'Europa vuole essere un progetto di società aperta e fondata sui diritti fondamentali è indispensabile che il sistema europeo comune di asilo, all'attuazione del quale contribuisce anche l'EASO, debba essere incentrato sulla tutela dei diritti fondamentali.

  Κωνσταντίνος Παπαδάκης (NI). - Αυτές τις μέρες το μπαράζ με τις τραγωδίες με θύματα μετανάστες στη Μεσόγειο αποκαλύπτει την κοινή αντιμεταναστευτική πολιτική της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και των κυβερνήσεων. Αυτή είναι η FRONTEX. Αυτό είναι το πρόγραμμα Triton. Αυτό είναι το Δουβλίνο ΙΙΙ και τα λεγόμενα «έξυπνα σύνορα» της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Είναι μηχανισμοί που διώκουν μέχρι πνιγμού τους μετανάστες και τους πρόσφυγες, τους μετανάστες που δεν χρειάζονται τα μονοπώλια και όλους αυτούς που αναγκάστηκαν να ξεσπιτωθούν από τις χώρες τους, προκειμένου να ξεφύγουν από τη φτώχεια, την πείνα και τις ιμπεριαλιστικές επεμβάσεις των ίδιων ενόχων: της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, του ΝΑΤΟ, των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών, για τον έλεγχο των πλουτοπαραγωγικών πηγών από τα μονοπώλια.

Το ΚΚΕ απαιτεί εδώ και τώρα άμεσα μέτρα υποδοχής, φιλοξενίας και ανακούφισης μεταναστών και προσφύγων. Να νομιμοποιούνται όσοι εργαζόμενοι ζουν και εργάζονται στην Ελλάδα. Να κλείσουν τώρα τα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης και να καταργηθούν οι κανονισμοί Δουβλίνο ΙΙ και ΙΙΙ. Ταξιδιωτικά έγγραφα σε όσους επιθυμούν να μετακινηθούν σε άλλες χώρες.

  Ελισσάβετ Βόζεμπεργκ (PPE). - Κυρία Πρόεδρε, έχουμε κατ’ επανάληψη πει σε αυτή την αίθουσα ότι δεν θα επιτρέψουμε να γίνει η Μεσόγειος ένα απέραντο νεκροταφείο ψυχών. Και έχουμε κάνει πολύ σημαντικές προσπάθειες. Δεν θα πρέπει να είμαστε υποκριτές. Αξίζουν συγχαρητήρια σε εκείνους που εργάζονται στη FRONTEX γιατί, πέραν του γεγονότος ότι επιτελούν ένα δύσκολο έργο και τα καθήκοντά τους, παράλληλα κινούνται σε μια λεπτή γραμμή που απαιτεί το σεβασμό των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων των ανθρώπων αυτών. Και αυτό επιτελείται. Μην ξεχνάμε ότι η FRONTEX, εκτός από τη φύλαξη των εξωτερικών συνόρων, πρέπει να συντονίζει και την επιχείρηση Triton και να συντονίζει και άλλες υπηρεσίες που συμβάλλουν –γιατί συμβάλλει και αυτή– στη διάσωση.

Τι πρέπει να γίνει για να αντιμετωπίσουμε το φαινόμενο; Αρκούν οι πόροι που μέχρι στιγμής υπάρχουν στη FRONTEX; Και εκτός τούτου, είναι επανδρωμένη με το κατάλληλο ανθρώπινο δυναμικό που έχει την απαραίτητη τεχνογνωσία; Σε αυτά πρέπει να συμβάλουμε για να το ενισχύσουμε.

Αλλά υπάρχει και μια άλλη υποχρέωση της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης: Πρέπει να επιταχύνουμε εκείνες τις οδούς που εξασφαλίζουν το άσυλο, διότι γνωρίζουμε ότι απελπισμένοι άνθρωποι οι οποίοι έρχονται στην Ευρώπη διότι πιστεύουν ότι είναι η γη της επαγγελίας, αναζητούν έναν τρόπο παροχής ασύλου και καταφεύγουν στους διακινητές, τους οποίους έχει υποχρέωση η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, με τους τρόπους που έχει και με άλλους που θα εφεύρει, να ελέγξει.

Αυτή η οδός λοιπόν, της νόμιμης μετανάστευσης, που πρέπει να ελεγχθεί ήδη από τα σύνορα αλλά και με άλλες μεθόδους, είναι ο μόνος τρόπος για να παταχθεί η παράτυπη μετανάστευση. Αυτή είναι και η αρχή που διαπνέει τη διακήρυξη του Επιτρόπου μας, του κ. Αβραμόπουλου, ενώ παράλληλα , ο François Crépeau, που είναι ο ειδικός εισηγητής του ΟΗΕ για τα δικαιώματα των μεταναστών, είπε πρόσφατα ότι πρέπει να δώσουμε κίνητρα και να επενδύσουμε στην κινητικότητα των μεταναστών, έτσι ώστε να υπάρχει οπωσδήποτε η αντιμετώπιση αυτού του φαινομένου.

(Η ομιλήτρια δέχεται να απαντήσει σε ερώτηση με «γαλάζια κάρτα» (άρθρο 162 παράγραφος 8 του Κανονισμού))

  James Carver (EFDD), blue-card question. – Speaking as the grandson of a refugee from Poland and, indeed, the grandson of a proud British lady who took in a family of asylum seekers following the Hungarian 1956 uprising – so someone who has strong support for the concept of asylum – do you not realise clearly from the comments you have just made that this whole concept of free movement within the European Union actually places such great constraints on the Member States that the ability to offer asylum as much as possible cannot be given?

  Ελισσάβετ Βόζεμπεργκ (PPE), απάντηση «γαλάζια κάρτα». – Αν κατάλαβα καλά την ερώτηση, η φιλοσοφία της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης δεν είναι να κλείσει τα σύνορα αλλά να τα ελέγξει. Να ελέγξει εκείνους τους ανθρώπους που μπορεί να απασχολήσει με ανθρώπινες συνθήκες εξασφαλίζοντας τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματά τους, από τη μια πλευρά, και από την άλλη να πατάξει το φαινόμενο των διακινητών που πλουτίζουν σε βάρος ανθρώπινων ψυχών.

  Илияна Йотова (S&D). - Г-жо Председател, г-н Комисар, очаквахме тази вечер заедно с Вас да видим тук и г-н Аврамопулос, който само след няколко месеца трябва да предложи новата холистична политика за справяне с най-големия проблем и предизвикателство пред Европа - миграцията, тъй като нелегалните преминавания по външните граници са удвоени близо два пъти и половина само за една година.

Най-големият натиск е в Средиземноморието, но не по-лека е ситуацията на сухопътната граница между България и Турция. Само за месец декември нови 1500 емигранти са се опитали да влязат в страната ни. Расте и нелегалната емиграция от Косово към Унгария. Има опасност от нова тежка хуманитарна криза след събитията в Украйна. Зад тази статистика стоят тежки последствия от икономически, обществен и политически характер. Създава се усещане у хората за безпомощност и на националните, и на европейските институции.

Попитахте, г-н Комисар, какви са нашите предложения. Прегледът на досегашните инструменти показва, че анализите за риска на европейските агенции и държавите членки, координацията и сътрудничеството не са достатъчни. Процесът час по-скоро трябва да започне от увеличаване правомощията на Фронтекс и да завърши със създаване на европейски граничен корпус за реагиране в „горещите точки“, където натискът е най-голям.

Операциите трябва да се извършват под командването на Фронтекс, а корпусът да бъде съставен от гранични полицаи от отделните държави членки, и разбира се целият този процес да бъде контролиран от Европейския парламент.

  Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski (ECR). - Pani Przewodnicząca! Pani minister reprezentująca łotewską prezydencję mówiła o potrzebie koordynacji polityki azylowej. Padały słowa o jednolitej polityce azylowej, ale to nie jest tylko kwestia techniczna, to jest kwestia merytoryczna. Powinniśmy być bezwzględni dla świata przestępczego i hojni – hojni na pewno dla uchodźców, dla uchodźców chrześcijańskich i w miarę możliwości hojni dla tych, którzy chcą przyjechać do Europy ze względów ekonomicznych. Najpierw trzeba wyznaczyć kierunki merytoryczne, a potem rozstrzygnięcia techniczne. Pan komisarz Timmermans mówił, że polityka w tej sferze musi być globalna. Rozumiem jego słowa, że musi być związana z polityką sąsiedztwa, z polityką dotyczącą Południa i Wschodu. Chciałbym poznać konkretne propozycje. I wreszcie nie mogę nie odnieść się do słów kolegi brytyjskiego, który zabierał głos w procedurze niebieskiej kartki. Czy mam rozumieć, że polityka Wielkiej Brytanii w okresie komunizmu, polityka azylowa była łatwiejsza? No na pewno była łatwiejsza, ale dojrzałe państwa powinny prowadzić politykę trudną.

  Филиз Хюсменова (ALDE). - Г-жо Председател, г-н Комисар, по отношение на дейността на Frontex налице са множество инструменти за защита на границите на Европа: системата SIS-II, системата VIS, разработва се програмата ЕВРОСУР, предстои стартиране на пилотния проект по пакета „Интелигентни граници“. За да опазим Европа, ни е необходимо най-вече добро сътрудничество.

По-ефективно би било да се въведе задължение под ръководството на Frontex за осъществяване на обмен на събираните данни между правозащитните органи на държавите членки и между тях, Frontex и Европол, като особен акцент се поставя върху държавите, на които е поверена отговорността да пазят външните европейски граници. И доколкото задълженията кореспондират с права, а отговорността върви ръка за ръка със солидарността, бих искала да припомня, че България и Румъния осъществяват задълженията си по опазване на границите и сигурността на Европа, но въпреки изпълнените изисквания за прием, продължават да стоят вън от Шенгенското пространство.

  Tania González Peñas (GUE/NGL). - Señora Presidenta, con Frontex estamos construyendo la Europa de la fortaleza, donde la política migratoria es simplemente una parte de una supuesta política de seguridad: restricción de visados, construcción de muros y vallas asesinas, militarización del control fronterizo, repatriaciones forzadas, subcontratación del control migratorio a países no democráticos. Estamos violando sistemáticamente derechos humanos, no solo en las devoluciones en caliente, sino instalando cuchillas en las vallas, maltratando en centros de internamiento o atacando con nuestras patrulleras embarcaciones endebles. Incluso ha habido casos en los que las autoridades europeas han autorizado a apretar el gatillo.

Hablemos de seguridad. ¿Saben cuándo se sienten seguros los ciudadanos, Señorías? Cuando tienen una vida digna en su país y no tienen que emigrar. En mi país ha habido más de dos millones de personas que se han tenido que ir fuera a buscarse la vida. Ninguno de ustedes querría que sus hijos, sus padres o sus hermanos fuesen tratados como tratamos a las personas que vienen de otros países, arrastrando dramas muchas veces generados por nuestra política exterior y económica.

(La oradora acepta responder a una pregunta formulada con arreglo al procedimiento de la «tarjeta azul» (artículo 162, apartado 8, del Reglamento))

  Franz Obermayr (NI), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Ich habe eine Frage an meine Vorrednerin: Sie sprechen, wie so viele andere auch immer, von einer „Festung Europa“, einer „Festung Europa“ mit Stacheldraht und sehr massiv ausgerüstet. Können Sie mir die Frage beantworten, ob es tatsächlich eine Festung ist, die jährlich circa 278 000 Leute in die Festung hereinlässt? Oder ist es nur ein löchriger Zaun, ein Holzzaun? Oder ist es wirklich eine Festung, die so offen ist, wie Europa im Jahr 2014 war? Vielleicht könnten Sie mir das freundlicherweise beantworten.

  Tania González Peñas (GUE/NGL), respuesta de «tarjeta azul». – Señor Obermayr, a mí me gustaría que me respondiera usted qué pasa con todos los que mueren en el camino, qué pasa con los que vienen y son maltratados, qué pasa con los que vienen y ven sistemáticamente violados sus derechos. Si no vemos que estamos construyendo una fortaleza con alambre de espino, es que estamos teniendo una mirada muy corta de la Europa que estamos construyendo.

  Karima Delli (Verts/ALE). - Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, on ne compte plus les rapports sur le harcèlement et les abus de la part de la police à l'égard des demandeurs d'asile et des migrants qui tentent de survivre, par exemple à Calais. On ne compte plus les morts, les personnes noyées, disparues en mer, affamées sur des radeaux de fortune, au large de Lampedusa ou d'Istanbul. Les démagogues et les populistes, partout en Europe, instrumentalisent les étrangers en jouant sur les peurs.

Alors qu'attendez-vous? Qu'attend le Conseil? En préférant regarder ailleurs, le Conseil ne voit-il pas qu'il encourage la vague xénophobe qui enfle partout en Europe? Le Conseil ne voit-il pas que c'est le repli sur soi et pas l'immigration qui mine nos sociétés? Vous savez, la politique, c'est comme l'air. C'est quand on en manque qu'on en a le plus besoin. Alors, faites preuve de courage et de politique!

Mesdames et Messieurs les chefs d'État, je vous dis que Frontex ne garantira pas que toutes les mesures seront prises pour que la Méditerranée ne soit pas un cimetière. Il faut du courage, mais il faut surtout une vraie politique migratoire commune, avec une voie légale sûre, notamment pour les demandeurs d'asile.

  Diane James (EFDD). - Madam President, today there have been more innocent victims of the human traffickers, but victims – I would say to everybody here in the Chamber this evening, the few of us that are here – of failed EU policies, the EU’s failure to control its borders and therefore directly the responsibility of FRONTEX.

Let us go through some figures, everybody. Let us just expose what we are talking about. An EU budget of EUR 84 million, 82 500 kilometres of land and sea borders to patrol and it works out at EUR 2.8 a day per kilometre and a detection rate of one in ten.

Look at the US, and I heard the comment about fortress Europe and such, but just look at the US. Funded to the tune of USD 13 billion with less than half the kilometres of borders to actually patrol and manage but it has invested in infrastructure and resources. It has fences, it has electronic and satellite surveillance and it has 20 000 agents patrolling. That level of investment delivers a detection rate of 61 % and starts to deal with the problem.

Therefore, anyone reading those figures, understanding those figures, would recognise that FRONTEX is a complete and utter irrelevance. You do not have to be an economic migrant to actually want to come here and create a problem. You can be somebody quite legitimately getting hold of genuine papers but from somebody who is producing and supplying them unlawfully or illegally.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us with two very clear problems. EU policy has subverted the ability and the very will of Member States to control their borders and secondly, this state of affairs is a product quite clearly of the failings of EU policy on freedom of movement and labour and persons.

I am going to leave you with some messages. The traffickers – yes, they can continue to line their pockets with vast amounts of cash. We are going to see more tragedies like we saw today. FRONTEX is not fit for purpose and it never will be. My message to you all and to the EU is to go back to the drawing board on EU policy or go back to the piggy bank and actually resource this properly.

  Matteo Salvini (NI). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le politiche sull'immigrazione sono l'esempio più lampante del fallimento dell'Europa o, meglio, della voglia di annientare socialmente, economicamente e culturalmente un continente. Non prendiamoci in giro. Frontex, innanzitutto, dovrebbe controllare le frontiere europee. Dove piazzano la sua sede? A Varsavia. Evidentemente nel posto più lontano che possa essere utile per controllare i punti di partenza dell'immigrazione che arriva in Italia. 600 milioni di euro spesi in dieci anni. 5 milioni di euro spesi ogni anno per l'affitto di questa mastodontica sede e del personale. Su 80 milioni di euro di budget totale nel 2013, 30 milioni servono per mantenere la struttura. Quindi, evidentemente stiamo pagando con soldi pubblici un carrozzone che a proposito di immigrazione ha risultati pratici pari allo zero.

L'anno scorso sono morte 3.000 persone nel mar Mediterraneo, morti sulla coscienza di quelli che invitano queste persone a partire. L'unica ricetta non è Frontex, Triton, Mare Nostrum, Pippo, Pluto o Paperino, ma è evitare che queste persone partano aiutandole a cercare di non scappare dalla fame e dalla guerra. Una guerra che, però, a quest'Europa piace, visto che c'è qualcuno che sta giocando alla guerra contro Putin. Invece di schierare gli uomini e i mezzi della NATO per scardinare quella follia, quella bestia, quella schifezza che si chiama ISIS, noi giochiamo alla guerra contro Putin.

Quindi è l'ennesima dimostrazione di come i soldi dei contribuenti vengano sbattuti via. Basta copiare da quello che fanno gli altri, basta copiare dal Canada, dall'Australia e dai paesi evoluti: non c'è bisogno di Frontex e l'immigrazione si controlla tranquillamente.

  Carlos Coelho (PPE). - Como já referiram vários colegas, morreram mais de trezentas pessoas tentando chegar à nossa costa. Ontem, morreram mais vinte e nove. Já o disse várias vezes nesta câmara: salvar vidas tem de ser uma prioridade!

É evidente que temos de discutir políticas de longo prazo e atacar de forma clara as raízes deste fenómeno: cooperando com países terceiros, criando corredores de migração legal, envidando todos os esforços para que seres humanos não tenham de colocar a própria vida em risco para fugirem dos seus países.

É determinante que a União Europeia aja com rapidez e ataque as raízes do problema, mas esta realidade não se altera por decreto, demora o seu tempo. E, entretanto, a pressão migratória não parece dar sinais de diminuir, a avaliar pelas informações divulgadas pela Frontex.

Em outubro solicitei à Comissão Europeia mais informação sobre os meios e sobre o raio de ação da operação Triton, alertando que poderia colocar em causa milhares de vidas. A resposta foi: confidencial. Pois a tragédia de hoje tornou público que os meios não são manifestamente suficientes. Hoje tornou-se público que a solidariedade que funda esta União nem sempre é posta em prática.

E é por isso, Senhora Presidente, que, com o sentido da urgência e da firmeza, convido a Comissão Europeia e, sobretudo, o Conselho a exercerem as suas competências.

\*(O orador aceita responder a uma pergunta "cartão azul" (n.º 8 do artigo 162.º)).

  Gilles Lebreton (NI), question "carton bleu". – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur Coelho vous venez de dire fort justement qu'il fallait combattre le problème de l'immigration à sa racine, mais vous n'avez pas évoqué la Turquie.

Nous savons que beaucoup de cargos chargés de clandestins partent en réalité de ports turcs. Ne pensez-vous pas qu'il faudrait donc de toute urgence négocier avec la Turquie pour que ce phénomène cesse? Car enfin, la Turquie est un pays très évolué qui est capable de garder ses côtes. Qu'en pensez-vous?

  Carlos Coelho (PPE), réponse "carton bleu". – Madame la Présidente, je suis entièrement d'accord avec vous. La Turquie est un pays candidat à l'adhésion à l'Union européenne. Dans le domaine de politique de voisinage, nous avons des instruments, des outils, pour l'inviter à coopérer plus efficacement avec nous.