President. – The next item is the debate on the oral question to the Commission, pursuant to Rule 128, on protection of children in migration by:
Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Roberta Metsola, on behalf of the PPE Group;
Birgit Sippel, Caterina Chinnici, Sylvie Guillaume, Dietmar Köster, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Tanja Fajon, Josef Weidenholzer, Soraya Post, Miltiadis Kyrkos, Kati Piri, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Christine Revault d'Allonnes Bonnefoy, Emilian Pavel, Elly Schlein, Enrique Guerrero Salom, on behalf of the S&D Group;
Nathalie Griesbeck, Cecilia Wikström, Hilde Vautmans, Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the ALDE Group;
Cornelia Ernst, Dennis de Jong, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Kostas Chrysogonos, Martina Anderson, Malin Björk, Barbara Spinelli, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Patrick Le Hyaric, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Stelios Kouloglou, Sofia Sakorafa, Paloma López Bermejo, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Tania González Peñas, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Eleonora Forenza, Miguel Viegas, João Pimenta Lopes, João Ferreira, Curzio Maltese, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Kostadinka Kuneva, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group;
Judith Sargentini, Jean Lambert, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
Caterina Chinnici, autore. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signora Commissaria, innanzitutto ringrazio tutti i relatori ombra per la collaborazione nella stesura della risoluzione. È stato un ottimo lavoro di squadra, indice della sensibilità di tutti i gruppi sul tema.
Sono oltre 30 000 i minori arrivati in Europa nel 2017 e tra loro sono moltissimi quelli non accompagnati, che muovendosi da soli sono i più vulnerabili poiché maggiormente esposti al rischio di abusi, sfruttamento e violenze. Dall'inizio della crisi migratoria, molto è stato fatto a livello europeo per rispondere alle necessità dei bambini e delle loro famiglie, ma purtroppo ancora oggi alcuni Stati membri non attuano le raccomandazioni contenute nella comunicazione della Commissione sulla protezione dei minori migranti, presentata più di un anno fa. È allarmante per esempio constatare come, in alcuni paesi dell'Unione, i minori migranti siano ancora detenuti unicamente in ragione della loro condizione di migranti e ci auguriamo che su questo aspetto il Consiglio voglia condividere e sostenere la posizione del Parlamento, che chiede da tempo l'abolizione di tale pratica e la predisposizione da parte delle autorità nazionali di sistemi di accoglienza basati su comunità e strutture idonee, separate da quelle per gli adulti, per ospitare i minori, soprattutto quelli non accompagnati, e le famiglie con bambini.
Con la risoluzione che approveremo domani, mi auguro all'unanimità, questo Parlamento intende ribadire ancora una volta la necessità di assicurare a questi bambini le necessarie tutele fin dal momento dell'arrivo sul territorio europeo, garantendo loro la nomina di un tutore, un adeguato alloggio e l'accesso all'istruzione, all'assistenza sanitaria, a tutti i servizi sociali. A queste tutele vanno affiancate anche procedure di registrazione dei minori migranti, incluse quelle per il rilevamento dei dati biometrici, condotte al fine esclusivo della loro protezione, escludendo quindi il ricorso a misure coercitive, nel pieno rispetto della convenzione dell'ONU sui diritti del fanciullo. È comunque indispensabile, per lo smantellamento del traffico di esseri umani e per prevenire la scomparsa dei minori, che l'Unione si adoperi per creare canali di immigrazione legali e sicuri con la condivisione, da parte di tutti gli Stati membri, del principio di solidarietà e di responsabilità, almeno nei confronti dei bambini.
Anna Maria Corazza Bildt,author. – Mr President, I am proud that today we stand united across the political groups for children’s rights. A child is first a child, regardless of the migration status. Migrant children are vulnerable: exposed to trafficking, abuse and exploitation during the journey and even in Europe. Our resolution is a call for action from the Member States to do more, better and faster, to protect children on the move. They must implement the asylum rules and build capacity, providing access to health care and psychological support, in particular for girls sexually exploited; accommodation and safe areas; school, to restore a sort of normal life and avoid a lost generation; appointing a guardian to unaccompanied minors within five days; and all children from the age of six arriving in Europe must be registered with fingerprints, in full respect of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, without using force.
Registration is crucial to ensure that children enter and remain in the protection system. It can help authorities find missing children. Children should not be detained just because they are migrants. In case of crime, they should be treated as EU nationals. Children’s dignity must be respected when doing medical examinations for age assessment. And we have a responsibility to ensure that refugee children go from fear to hope for the future. When given a real chance to integrate, they can become an asset to our societies in Europe, and education is key for integration and to prevent crime and radicalisation. It should include learning about our European values and languages, and respect for women and the rule of law.
We also need to tackle the root causes of migration. Let’s not forget all those kids who didn’t make it to Europe, in the desert, in the Mediterranean. I was just in Niger, in Agadez, Africa’s trafficking hub in the Sahara Desert. It was heart-breaking to meet so many children victims of violence. But these tragic stories are the same that are heard from migrant children whom I met in refugee camps in Turkey, in Greece, in hotspots in Sicily, and even in reception centres in Sweden.
The EU is doing a lot in Africa, but much more needs to be done, in particular for the Investing in Children programme. As co-chair of the Intergroup on Children’s Rights, I want to pay tribute to all the workers for their commitment to protect children. I will continue to join forces to ensure that Europe truly means safety for children.
Hilde Vautmans, Auteur. – Mevrouw de commissaris, ik zou graag willen beginnen met een van de vluchtelingenkinderen hier aan het woord te laten. Ik zou graag willen beginnen met Nimo, die 6 jaar was toen ze uit Somalië wegvluchtte. “We zijn lang in de Sahara gebleven, meer dan 3 maanden. We sliepen buiten op de grond. Onze schoenen gebruikten we als hoofdkussen. De mannen die ons meenamen waren gemeen. Wie wegliep werd geslagen met een stok. Want je moest eerst betalen, anders kon je niet weg. De smokkelaars hebben eens tegen oma gezegd dat ze haar zouden vrijlaten als ze mij aan de mannen zou geven. Gelukkig heeft ze dat niet gedaan.” Aldus kleine Nimo.
Dit verhaal toont voor mij heel duidelijk aan dat dit debat en deze resolutie over kinderen in migratie broodnodig zijn. Collega's, twee jaar geleden is Europol met een rapport naar buiten gekomen dat duidelijk zei dat er in Europa tienduizend niet-begeleide minderjarige asielzoekers verdwenen zijn. De kinderen zouden beland zijn in de prostitutie, in de kinderarbeid, gedood zijn voor hun organen of in een ander Europees land bij hun familie wonen, zonder dat we het weten.
Ik heb vorige week een boek voorgesteld met de titel “Waar zijn ze?” Where are they?
En ik moet u zeggen dat ik daarin onthutsende cijfers over België heb kunnen citeren. In 2017 waren er 124 vermiste kinderen aangegeven in België bij Child Focus. En weet u hoeveel bij de dienst voogdij? 618! Hoe kan dat? Hoe kan het dat wij in België niet eens de juiste cijfers over verdwijningen hebben?
Maar, collega's, het is niet enkel in België het geval. Ik heb ook eens rondgebeld naar andere landen. In Italië schat men 5700, in Oostenrijk om en bij de 700, in Zweden 318, in Nederland 290. Maar eigenlijk is er niemand, niemand in Europa, die het juiste cijfer exact kan geven en dat op zich is een pure schande. Vandaar dat we eigenlijk blij zijn dat deze resolutie de punten op een rijtje zet.
Laat ons beginnen met cijfers, opdat wij de data hebben.
1. Biometrische gegevens, foto's, vingerafdrukken en natuurlijk afgenomen op kindvriendelijke wijze en alleen om hen te beschermen.
2. Kindvriendelijke menswaardige opvang. Geen gevangenissen meer! Voogden aanduiden, psychologische begeleiding en onderwijs.
3. Snellere familiereünie binnen Europa. Ook dat duurt soms maanden.
The Commissioner has said that, in her book, if a child disappears it is a ‘ticket to hell’. Let us create awareness; let us find them; let us just do it.
Cornelia Ernst, Verfasserin. – Herr Präsident! Als wir die Balkanroute 2015/16 besuchen konnten, erzählten uns viele Migrantinnen und Migranten, dass Kinder verschwunden sind. Die einen tauchten an anderen Orten wieder auf, die anderen verschwanden für immer. Sie wurden für den Organhandel ausgeschlachtet, versklavt als Arbeiter, missbraucht für sexuelle Dienste oder sind irgendwie und irgendwo zu Tode gekommen. Dass Kinder auf der Flucht am meisten gefährdet sind, weiß die EU schon sehr lange, aber sie tut nichts! Obwohl der Schutz von Kindern die erste Pflicht einer Gesellschaft ist. Im Übrigen ist es vollkommen egal, woher die Kinder kommen. Die EU und die Mitgliedstaaten unternehmen nichts, weil ihnen wichtiger ist, Grenzen dichtzumachen, als Kinderleben zu schützen.
Wie egal Kommission und Mitgliedstaaten – egal, was Sie heute erzählen, Frau Jourová – das Schicksal dieser Kinder ist, zeigt auch der Fakt, dass bis heute keine einzige konsequente, wirklich greifende Maßnahme gegen Kinderhandel und Kindesmissbrauch tatsächlich ergriffen wurde. Und dass Ihnen die Kinder im Herzen so egal sind, zeigt sich daran, dass bis heute Migrantenkinder in ein Asylgefängnis in irgendeinem Mitgliedstaat unserer Europäischen Union gesteckt werden können – wenn es ein Mitgliedstaat eben will. Wir halten es für einen Verstoß gegen die Menschenrechte, wenn Kinder interniert werden. Wir verlangen, dass Familien schnellstmöglich zusammengeführt werden und Kindern das gewährt wird, was ihnen zusteht: Familie und Geborgenheit und kein Stacheldraht!
Meine Damen und Herren, wir als GUE/NGL verlangen erleichterte und schnellere Asylverfahren für alle minderjährigen Asylsuchenden. Wir verurteilen, dass Kindern die Fingerabdrücke genommen werden. Fragen Sie mal Spezialisten, was die sagen – die lachen sich krank darüber, weil das nämlich unsinnig ist und abgesehen davon Kinder kriminalisiert werden. Wir wollen, dass in allen Mitgliedstaaten endlich die Integration von Migrantenkindern Normalität wird – in Schulen, im Gesundheitswesen, beim Wohnen, bei der Betreuung, überall! Ich fordere Sie auf, endlich etwas zu tun und nicht nur zu reden.
Jean Lambert, author. – Mr President, I want to add my voice to what has just been said by my colleagues. We know that the response across the European Union in terms of children in the asylum system and children in migration is still very fragmented. There is still much work to be done in terms of joining the dots to give a holistic response, and with a focus on durable solutions, and that includes children who are undocumented or stateless. We still do not have all Member States having a statelessness procedure that really works. So progress is slow, there is a lack of resources going to the local and regional level, certainly from EU money, and I think we need to reconsider how we are spending and directing that to really get the increase that we need in training and indeed in a much, much better system.
We also need to concentrate on implementing the legislation that we have because that is pretty poorly implemented in many of our Member States. In terms of protection and the basics of life – shelter, food, safety – no child in the European Union should be having to sell themselves to get any of those things and there are many today who do. When the legal guardian system works, it works really well. In the European Parliament, we heard only last week about a young man, Julien Makalu, who had been thrown into jail on his arrival in the European Union, but had been helped by a legal adviser and is now an engineering student at a Greek university. He spoke about the enormous difference to his life that having the support of that legal guardian had made.
I also want to say a last word about family reunion and how poorly that is implemented in our Member States. Many of our systems still do not have a real operational basis on which to cooperate across borders to make sure that children are reunited with their families.
Věra Jourová,Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, last April the Commission identified a series of actions to be urgently taken or better implemented by the EU and its Member States to strengthen the protection of the high number of migrant children arriving in Europe, many of them unaccompanied. The Commission and the EU agencies fully support Member States in implementing these actions. In the meantime, large numbers of children continue to arrive to Europe. According to the latest data published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in March this year, between January and September 2017, 25 379 children arrived in Greece, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria. Of those, 58% were unaccompanied or separated children. The arrival of unaccompanied and separated children has actually increased by 25% compared to the first half of 2016. The challenges identified in our communication and its recommendations are therefore still very relevant and very important. It is time to ask what has been achieved by the Member States so far in terms of implementing the communication and the recommendations of the Commission.
Over the past year, the Commission and the EU agencies stepped up the work to support Member States to reinforce the protection of migrant children. However, child protection for migrant children is still fragmented – as you rightly pointed out – across Member States. A number of challenges still need to be addressed, following also our recommendations, in order to make the policy on the protection of children in migration tangible and consistent.
Overall, I cannot agree with the opinion that we have done nothing, but I also fully admit that we must do much better. We still need to take a big step forward to improve cross-border cooperation as well as communication on aspects concerning migrant children. We monitor progress achieved in the implementation of the communication also through bi-annual joint meetings with the representatives from the Member States. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in early June this year, and we will pass the same messages there too.
More generally, we need to find the right balance between the effective EU migration management policy and ensuring adequate protection for the most vulnerable. In order to meet these challenges the Commission will continue to prioritise the protection needs of migrant children in EU funding.
Our financial support should also reach the regional and local authorities, which have a key role with respect to integration and social inclusion measures including access to formal, inclusive education and non—discriminatory access to other services.
Roberta Metsola, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, the situation we are facing with the migrant children is heart-breaking and horrifying in equal measure. Last year, some 15 000 unaccompanied children arrived on our shores, lost and alone. Many of these children were put in a boat by their parents, who knew the risks and who did it anyway because a choice between fire and water and between certainty and some hope is no choice at all.
This issue is the litmus test of the strength of our European way. It is being put to the test and we have two choices. Do we double down on our values or do we turn our backs? The populists would turn and then manipulate the issue to try to get elected. I say that the time to pander to them must end. I am a proud Maltese Christian Democrat. I am also unashamedly a pro-life politician – probably one of the few – but it would be utterly hypocritical of me, or of anyone like me, to speak out for the unborn, but then turn our backs on children fleeing Syria, starvation or hopelessness just because they were born elsewhere.
By all means let’s have all the necessary security verification procedures in place, let’s close all the loopholes and let’s ensure identification, but let’s also counter the thinking that leads so many people to believe that these children are somehow so different from our own that we allow them to become scapegoats and cheap electoral punch bags. As has been said, unaccompanied children need guardianship, not prison guards, playpens and not barbed wire. They need child rights protection officers, respect, books and access to education. We have the resources to do this. States have a legal obligation to do this, and we must ensure that they do.
Enrique Guerrero Salom, en nombre del Grupo S&D. –Señor presidente, el acceso a la escuela es un derecho fundamental para todos los niños, pero ese derecho no está siendo protegido para los centenares de miles de niños refugiados que escapan de Siria y llegan a las costas europeas o a Turquía.
De acuerdo con la legislación europea, después de pedir asilo deberían incorporarse a la escuela antes de tres meses, pero un estudio realizado por Global Progressive Forum sobre siete países de la Unión y Turquía muestra que tardan incluso más de dos años en incorporarse al sistema educativo ―unos niños que han perdido ya otros dos años y medio escapando de la guerra en Siria. Muestra también que esos niños no cuentan con un apoyo psicológico para alguien que está escapando de un trauma ni cuentan tampoco con un apoyo pedagógico para alguien que tiene que incorporarse a una cultura que no es suya.
Nuestra batalla consiste en garantizarles ese derecho.
Marek Jurek, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Pani komisarz! Nie będę powtarzał danych Europolu, bo właściwie wszystko już tu powiedzieli nasi koledzy, a najlepiej mówiły nasze koleżanki. Hilde Vautmans mówiła o tym, co się dzieje. To są rzeczy straszne: wykorzystywanie seksualne, nowoczesne niewolnictwo, żeby nie mówić o rzeczach najgorszych, a Roberta Metsola mówiła o dobrych remediach, które należy podjąć.
Ale to wszystko, szczególnie wobec bezradności rządu (na przykład konkretnie rządu szwedzkiego, który był alarmowany przez własnego ombudsmana), nie zwalnia nas od zadania pytania: kto do tego wszystkiego doprowadził, kto te dzieci zachęcał, w większości – powtórzę to, co mówiła pani komisarz – bez opieki rodziców, do rzucenia się w tę niebezpieczną drogę. Ja nie mówię tylko o nielegalnym przemycie ludzi – z nim musimy walczyć przede wszystkim – ale nie unikną odpowiedzialności politycy, którzy do tego zachęcali i te dzieci na ten los narazili.
Margot Parker, on behalf of the EFDD Group. – Mr President, no one can disagree that the protection of children in migration is one of the biggest issues facing Europe today. Europol estimate that there are at least 10 000 missing children in the European Union. How many have been spirited across borders by traffickers and lost to a life of slavery? How many of these could have been protected if there were not open borders across this continent?
The European Union preaches solidarity, burden sharing and responsibility, yet it blindly refuses to acknowledge that its own policies and ideology, namely the Schengen area, facilitate crimes against children. Unless the EU has a serious rethink on internal and external migration it cannot say in good faith that the EU can better protect children in Europe.
Κωνσταντίνος Παπαδάκης (NI). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, είναι σκέτη υποκρισία το να επιχειρεί η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να εμφανιστεί ευαίσθητη για τα παιδιά πρόσφυγες που αυτή και οι σύμμαχοί της βομβαρδίζουν και ξεριζώνουν από τον τόπο τους είτε με τους γονείς τους είτε ασυνόδευτα ή κάνοντάς τα να ζουν το μαρτύριο της πολύμηνης αναμονής οικογενειακής επανένωσης. Το τελευταίο διάστημα οι ροές αυξάνουν εκτός από τα ελληνικά νησιά και στον Έβρο, άρα μύθος είναι ότι η συμφωνία Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης -Τουρκίας τις σταματούν. Εγκλωβισμός, εκτεταμένη πορνεία, εμπορία παιδιών είναι σύμφυτα του συστήματος της εκμετάλλευσης που υπερασπίζεται η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Η πολιτική της και των κυβερνήσεών της, όπως της κυβέρνησης ΣΥΡΙΖΑ-ΑΝΕΛ, καταδικάζουν παιδιά να ζουν εγκλωβισμένα σε άθλιες συνθήκες, έκθετα σε δολοφονικές επιθέσεις φασιστοειδών, σαν αυτήν πρόσφατα στη Λέσβο.
Να ενταθεί λοιπόν τώρα η πάλη ενάντια στις ιμπεριαλιστικές επεμβάσεις. Να απεγκλωβιστούν τώρα όλοι οι πρόσφυγες και μετανάστες με τη μεταφορά τους σε κέντρα της ηπειρωτικής Ελλάδας, με προορισμό τη χώρα που επιθυμούν. Πλήρη μέτρα στήριξης των παιδιών προσφύγων και μεταναστών!
Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra (PPE). – Señor presidente, las cifras del ACNUR que ha facilitado la señora comisaria representan un compromiso de urgencia para la Unión Europea. En la Comunicación de la Comisión de abril de 2017 Avramopoulos decía que las prioridades debían ser mejorar la identificación de los menores, formar al personal responsable y agilizar las reubicaciones, pero también la rápida localización de sus familias en los países de origen. Sí, sí ―digo yo―, pero sin coerción. Para mí, la identificación es un elemental procedimiento de protección. El interés superior del menor debe ser primordial. Especial protección para los no acompañados, los más expuestos a caer en manos criminales. Hay que seguir desarrollando y utilizando los instrumentos europeos ya operativos o pendientes. Desarrollo del portal de búsqueda europeo, el de entradas y salidas, los hotspots, Europol o Frontex, pero que sean compasivos y humanitarios. Más capacidades y medios para los operativos y legislación rápida y presupuesto para los previstos. Más cooperación con los países de origen y tránsito. Y una urgente conclusión de los acuerdos operativos entre Europol y los países del norte de África y de Oriente Próximo. Nada más.
Claude Moraes (S&D). – Mr President, recently in Niger our delegation saw the shocking situation where nearly a third of those who are being evacuated from Libya are unaccompanied and separated children. The terror that they must be feeling is something extraordinary that we should all think about. Member States need to step up pledges to resettle unaccompanied and separated children who have been evacuated from Libya through the emergency transfer mechanism. The pledges of EU Member States are too low, but when you think of the separated children I think they should think again.
NGOs such as RRC point to the importance also for continued cooperation and support from the Commission, as the Commissioner said to Greece and other front line Member States, to ensure existing shelters and alternative care arrangements remain open and operational, that no further funding gaps emerge or delays in funding flows disrupt the provision of care and services for children.
Children should always be uppermost in our minds. The terror they face should be uppermost in our minds and we have a duty to them.
Bernd Kölmel (ECR). – Herr Präsident! Ich habe jetzt sehr viel Richtiges gehört, aber ich muss gestehen – bei allem Respekt: Das kommt mir auch ziemlich populistisch vor. Denn wir müssen doch mal einfach die Fakten sehen: In Deutschland leben derzeit über 50 000 unbegleitete minderjährige Flüchtlinge. Angeblich minderjährige Flüchtlinge! Denn man weigert sich teilweise, eine ganz konkrete Altersfeststellung auch mal durchzuführen.
Es ist völlig unstreitig, dass man minderjährige Flüchtlinge besonders aktiv unterstützen muss. Dazu muss man aber auch mal feststellen, wer denn minderjährig ist. Wenn man das nicht macht, untergräbt man doch die Akzeptanz für jede sinnvolle Lösung. Es ist ein Unding, dass man diesen Punkt nicht angeht, und es ist für mich ein Unding, dass man das auch nicht thematisiert. Wenn man hier nur davon redet, dass man helfen will, dann ist das kein politischer Ansatz. Wir müssen hier auch dafür sorgen, dass wir eine Lösung kreieren, die von der Bevölkerung akzeptiert wird, und das, was ich bis jetzt gehört habe, ist davon weit entfernt.
Carlos Coelho (PPE). – Senhor Presidente, Senhora Comissária Věra Jourová, caros colegas, apesar de já não fazer manchetes, apesar de já não ouvirmos falar daqueles que, fugindo da guerra e da morte, chegam às nossas fronteiras, a verdade é que estamos tristemente longe de ter resolvido a chamada “crise dos refugiados”.
A má gestão da crise humanitária que assolou o Mediterrâneo e as nossas fronteiras, a par de um Sistema Europeu Comum de Asilo, que tem pouco de comum, que mal funciona e, quando funciona, funciona mal, conduziu a um conjunto de prolongados efeitos adversos.
As crianças são, infelizmente, quem mais sentiu estes efeitos e mais sofreu com a incapacidade da União. Ainda em 2017, chegaram mais de trinta mil crianças à Europa, das quais metade estavam sozinhas.
Não é aceitável que se passem meses sem que seja nomeado, sequer, um tutor para essas crianças. Também não é aceitável que mais meses ainda sejam necessários até que se verifique o reagrupamento com as suas famílias. Estamos a tirar-lhes o futuro, bem como às quase mil que estavam detidas em 2016.
A Comissão, estou certo, encontrará no Parlamento todo o apoio de que precisa para uma defesa resoluta dos direitos destas crianças. Mas, que fique claro, é dos Estados-Membros que mais se exige e espera. Apenas os Estados-Membros dispõem dos meios para salvarmos estas crianças, que não são imigrantes, refugiados ou requerentes de asilo. São crianças, como as nossas.
Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, non c'è nulla in grado di dimostrare quale sia la vera anima di una società, se non il modo in cui tratta i bambini, ha detto Nelson Mandela.
Questa risoluzione dà indicazioni chiare su quella che dovrebbe essere la vera anima dell'Europa: l'accoglienza, la cura e l'integrazione dei minori migranti. Sono giovani con un passato difficile da dimenticare, ma anche un presente e un progetto futuro. Per loro chiediamo una serie di garanzie e di tutele che vadano oltre la gestione emergenziale di questi ultimi anni e anche percorsi legali e sicuri; chiediamo che nessun genitore debba affidare le sorti dei propri figli a viaggi disperati.
Perciò è necessario attuare corridoi umanitari, provvedere alla rilocalizzazione, accelerare la riunificazione familiare, applicare buone prassi come quelle del mio paese, il cui lavoro incessante delle istituzioni, delle autorità locali, delle associazioni e della società civile ci dà la forza di guardare avanti e ci aiuta anche a riscoprire la vera anima dell'Europa.
Michaela Šojdrová (PPE). – Pane předsedající, kolegyně a kolegové, přesto, že věci postupují velmi pomalu, musíme skutečně říci, že děti jsou nejohroženější skupinou mezi uprchlíky a musíme jim věnovat maximální pozornost.
Minulý týden jsem byla na misi v Řecku, zejména na ostrově Lesbos, kde jsem viděla situaci zejména dětí bez doprovodu. Zatímco řecká vláda opravdu postupuje velmi pomalu, pak musím ocenit práci lidí v terénu, kteří pracují s velkým nasazením, ať už jsou to domácí Řekové nebo zaměstnanci mezinárodních organizací. Oceňuji jejich práci, kterou právě v těchto dnech odvádějí, ať už je to v hot-spotu Moria, v centru Karatepe. Za mimořádnou práci chci osobně poděkovat starostovi ostrova Lesbos. Ve složitých podmínkách se snaží o to, aby život v táborech byl pro všechny důstojný a bezpečný, zejména pro ženy a děti. Tyto děti, kterých je tři tisíce v Řecku, jsou ohroženy zneužíváním, obchodováním, nemají životní perspektivu. Proto podporuji bezvýhradně maximální snížení věkové hranice snímání otisků prstů, aby je bylo možné evidovat a chránit.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D). –Señor presidente, señora comisaria Jourová, de acuerdo con el ACNUR, 30 000 niños llegaron a Italia, Grecia, España y Bulgaria en el último año 2017. De ellos prácticamente la mitad, menores no acompañados: por tanto, los más vulnerables, expuestos a explotación, abuso y toda forma de violencia.
La Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño de las Naciones Unidas de 1989 y la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión Europea compelen a todos los Estados miembros a cumplir las resoluciones de la Comunicación adoptada por la propia Comisión el 12 de abril del año pasado, lo que significa refugios especializados disponibles para niños no acompañados y para sus familias, la designación de un tutor, apoyo médico, psicológico y educación para esos niños no acompañados, en situación extremadamente vulnerable.
Asimismo, la prohibición de la detención, de modo que no pueda producirse una detención prolongada y sistemática de menores migrantes y sus familias, en cumplimiento de sus derechos fundamentales. Y, por supuesto, mi Grupo ha conseguido que en el texto se incluya el derecho a la educación a partir de los tres meses y la prohibición de... (el presidente retira la palabra al orador)
Jeroen Lenaers (PPE). – Voorzitter, kinderen zijn kinderen en hebben recht op onze bescherming, onafhankelijk van waar ze vandaan komen en onafhankelijk van hoe ze hier terechtgekomen zijn.
Het is cruciaal dat we in ons asielbeleid ook de instrumenten opnemen om die bescherming tot een realiteit te maken. Dat betekent dus ook dat we alle kinderen die hier als vluchteling of migrant aankomen moeten identificeren en registreren en dat we dus ook lidstaten de mogelijkheden geven om die registratie te kunnen garanderen.
Het betekent ook dat we ervoor moeten zorgen dat lidstaten kunnen controleren dat kinderen ook echt kinderen zijn, dat we volwassenen die zich voordoen als kinderen kunnen ontmaskeren juist om die kinderen te kunnen beschermen. En veel van de wetgeving waarin we dit kunnen regelen, ligt op dit moment op de onderhandelingstafel. Ik roep dan ook de Raad en de Commissie, maar zeker ook de collega's hier in het Parlement op om daarmee voort te maken.
Andrejs Mamikins (S&D). – Mr President, I would say to the Commissioner that children in migration are vulnerable to all kinds of trauma and they struggle in many spheres of life, but their rights are undeniable and equal. Migrant children have the same rights as our children. I call on the European Commission to take steps to ensure that the identification of children upon their arrival in the EU occurs as soon as possible. It is unacceptable that children should stay in the limbo of detention for years awaiting refugee status. The process of getting asylum must be as quick as possible for them.
Researchers on the ground tell us that the main problem is not the lack of a strong legislative framework to protect these children. The problem is the implementation of the rules. If we need more trained staff to work with migrant children, we must train them. If we need new facilities for their accommodation, we must create them. If we need to overcome the reluctance of local people to accept the children, we must lead awareness campaigns.
Catch-the-eye procedure
Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, my colleague Roberta Metsola outlined the position of children in the European Union arriving unaccompanied, and missing children, which is very tragic. I think our aim should be simple: to treat these children as if they were our own. I think that we should do everything we can to provide them with a home where they are warm and comfortable, and a school where they can be educated and reach their potential. I think that is what the people of the European Union want, and indeed one of the great joys of being an MEP is going round to schools in my constituency where I see children from all different nationalities from outside the European Union, sitting side by side with children from my own country, integrating properly.
On Monday, I was in the biggest primary school in my area, in Killarney – St. Oliver’s. There they are preparing for the Blue Star, and the work done by children from outside the European Union was fantastic – their knowledge, their pride and the way they are integrated and accepted. That is what we need to do. Give them a home, give them an education.
Silvia Costa (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, con questa interrogazione vogliamo accelerare una vera strategia comune europea per definire un quadro di protezione dei bambini migranti in Europa in base alla Convenzione sui diritti dei minori: è un nostro dovere, con riferimento in particolare ai minori non accompagnati – solo in Italia sono in questo momento 15 000.
Per questo noi abbiamo approvato, nel mio paese, una nuova legge che abbiamo presentato all'intergruppo "Minori" e che riprende molti dei punti che sono nella nostra risoluzione di domani: un comune sistema di rapida identificazione all'arrivo, divieto di detenzione, persone incaricate in ogni hotspot, condizioni di accoglienza standard, assistenza giuridica, sanità, accesso all'educazione, a prescindere dal loro status, ma soprattutto nomina di tutori e possibilità di affido familiare, di ricongiungimento familiare. Inoltre, per prevenire la tratta, nell'ambito dei partenariati con i paesi terzi dobbiamo prevedere forme di protezione e di monitoraggio.
Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η προστασία των παιδιών-μεταναστών είναι στην ημερήσια διάταξη σε όλα τα κράτη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και πρέπει προφανώς να υπάρξει απόλυτη προστασία τους από τη βία, ιδίως τη σεξουαλική βία, προστασία από την εκμετάλλευση, από την πορνεία. Αυτή τη στιγμή αυξάνονται οι μεταναστευτικές ροές στην Ελλάδα, όχι μόνο στα νησιά του Αιγαίου αλλά πλέον και από την περιοχή του Έβρου έχουμε μεγάλες μεταναστευτικές ροές. Την περασμένη Κυριακή ήμουν στη Λέσβο. Η κατάσταση έχει φτάσει στο απροχώρητο. Πάνω από 10.000 πρόσφυγες και παράνομοι μετανάστες βρίσκονται στη Λέσβο, η οποία έχει 27.000 κατοίκους. Αντιλαμβάνεστε ότι δεν μπορεί να συνεχιστεί αυτή η κατάσταση. Πριν από λίγες ώρες 160 άτομα αποβιβάστηκαν στη νήσο Χίο.
Βλέπετε λοιπόν ότι οι ροές αυξάνονται και πρέπει να πάρουμε μέτρα: πρώτον, αποσυμφόρηση των νησιών του Αιγαίου· δεύτερον, προστασία, φυσικά, των ανηλίκων· τρίτον, μετεγκατάσταση σε άλλες χώρες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και, τέλος, επαναπροώθηση όσων δεν δικαιούνται ασύλου.
Linnéa Engström (Verts/ALE). –Herr ordförande! Fru kommissionär! Barn har rätt till en trygg uppväxt fri från våld. Barn har rätt till sjukvård, utbildning och fri lek. Barn har rätt att få känna framtidstro och att ha en stöttande vuxen som älskar dem, men det finns många barn inom EU i dag som inte har det. Allra värst utsatta är de ensamkommande flyktingbarnen.
Enligt FN:s flyktingorgan UNHCR anlände 32 039 barn till Grekland, Italien, Spanien och Bulgarien år 2017. Omkring 46 procent av dessa barn var ensamkommande eller barn som skilts från sina föräldrar. Dessa barn lever under mycket utsatta förhållanden, och mer stöd behövs.
I Sverige har Miljöpartiet sett till att över 9 000 ensamkommande barn får en andra chans att stanna, då den långa handläggningstiden har gjort att de fyllt 18 år under tiden som de har väntat på besked. Vi behöver göra mer inom EU för att tillgodose alla barns rättigheter. Ett första steg är att ta verkligt ansvar för migrationspolitiken och jobba mot trafficking. Alla måste ta ett solidariskt ansvar, och särskilt för barn som fastnar i systemet se till att de får den hjälp som de behöver.
Krisztina Morvai (NI). – Mr President, I would like to ask Mr Kelly, with all due respect, that if it is such a fantastic thing that migrant children and British or Irish children are mixed, why do Members of Parliament not send their children to these schools, but instead either send their children to very expensive private schools where there are no migrant children or, in Brussels, send their children to a special so-called European School which is completely isolated from the rest of the world? All employees and Members of the European Parliament qualify for sending their children there. Why do Members of the European Parliament and the employees of the European Union not want their children to have all this fun in the world from being mixed?
President. – Ms Morvai, I shall make just one comment, and that is that I do have some experience of the European school and I must say that the pupils studying there are different in nature, of different origins and – you would be surprised – of different skin colour and also refugees. I myself came across that many years ago, and I do not think it has changed.
(End of catch-the-eye procedure)
Věra Jourová,Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, I attended basic school with a large number of Roma children and they are still my good friends. I was happy to have such an experience; it was very enriching. This was a very important and serious debate, so let me briefly react to some of the comments.
I think it is quite clear that the problem of children in migration and creating better conditions for them, especially security and perspective, requires cooperation at all levels, starting from the EU institutions, through the Member States at regional and local level, but also civil society organisations. We all have the obligation to strictly follow the principle of acting in the best interests of the child, because this is not only a legal and political obligation; it is also, and especially, a moral imperative.
We will discuss it with the Member States in June, as I said before. We will look back into the Commission Communication and Recommendation and we will discuss seriously what has been done and what still needs to be done. Much has been done in the field of training and deploying more capacities. We are continuing funding programmes. You would be surprised how flexible the funding is, because we try to react to current needs and urgent needs. I will not go into details, because of the time pressure.
We will be more, let us say, strict in asking Member States to facilitate guardians for the children because, rightly, and for very good reason, we set a five-day deadline for choosing guardians for the children since if this does not happen then there are very frequent cases of children going missing. This is a sensitive moment and we have a duty to have guardians for them as soon as possible.
Regarding the fingerprinting of children, we proposed a reform of the European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database (Eurodac) to lower the age for taking fingerprints and facial images to six years, precisely to strengthen the protection of children in migration and, in all cases, fingerprinting of minors must be carried out in full respect of their rights and best interests. By the way, it was very urgently recommended by the people working on the ground, in the hot spots. They warned us that the lack of identification is also one of the causes of children going missing.
My last comment is on the detention of children. I have to stress here, again, that the administrative detention of children should only be used, in line with EU law, exclusively in exceptional circumstances and where strictly necessary. It should only be used as a last resort where no less coercive measures are available, for the shortest possible time and always in dedicated closed centres. This is very important to stress.
As a very last comment, I think that we, first of all, have to offer children a perspective, because providing them with food and bed cannot be enough. I think it is our obligation, as you rightly pointed out, to provide them with an education and full integration into our society. This is absolutely essential and I think it is our common duty as well.
VORSITZ: RAINER WIELAND Vizepräsident
Der Präsident. – Gemäß Artikel 128 Absatz 5 der Geschäftsordnung wurde ein Entschließungsantrag eingereicht. Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.
Die Abstimmung findet morgen, Donnerstag, 3. Mai 2018, statt.
Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162 GO)
Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (PPE), in writing. – The recommendations of the European Commission’s Communication on the protection of children in migration of 12 April 2017 requires an urgent and strengthened implementation across EU Member States, starting with the processes of identification and registration. According to Europol, more than ten thousands migrant and refugee children have gone missing after their arrival in EU, victims of human trafficking and extreme abuses. The main barrier in combating this worrying phenomenon is the lack of data (biometrical data and fingerprints) which leads to an incapacity of traceability of migrant and refugee children across EU. Consequently, I stress the importance to reinforce the procedures of data collecting at all EU all borders and assemble effective mechanisms of prevention and responses. With regards to prevention, it is decisive that missing children detected across the Union are immediately identified, registered and assigned to child protection authorities, and further hosted in different establishment than adults in order to prevent risks of violence and other abuses. EU Members need to step up efforts in cross-border cooperation, information-sharing and coordination among all authorities involved in order to find and protect the missing children, irrespective of their migration or refugee status.
Kinga Gál (PPE), írásban. – A gyermek védelme természetesen elsőbbséget kell élvezzen minden procedúrában – a menedékkérelemi eljárás elbírálása során is. Ez így van a Magyarországra érkező kiskorú migránsok esetében is. A 14 és 18 év közötti kiskorúak külön vannak elszállásolva a tranzitzónákban, amíg a 14 év alatti migráns gyermekek már az ország területén lévő speciális gyermekvédelmi intézményekben kerülnek elhelyezésre. A tranzitzónákban folyamatosan jelen vannak a kiskorúakat segítő szociális munkások, az ott dolgozó rendőrök és személyzet speciális képzésben részesül, és a kiskorúak minden esetben hozzáférnek az oktatáshoz. Ugyanakkor a migránsok nagy százaléka hamisan kiskorúnak vallja magát annak érdekében, hogy részesüljenek a gyermekeket megillető speciális eljárásokban, így leplezve büntetett előéletüket. Ezért nagyon fontosnak tartom, hogy a kiskorúakkal szemben is lehessen minél egyszerűbb és gyorsabb kormeghatározást használni, valamint kötelezni őket biometrikus adataik megadására. Ugyanakkor a kiskorú migránsok esetében is elutasítom a kötelező kvótát, amelynek végrehajtását a jelentés sürgeti, hiszen ez csak azt eredményezi, hogy több és több kísérő nélküli kiskorú induljon neki az Európában vezető veszélyes útnak annak reményében, hogy majd családegyesítéssel maga után hozhatja családját.
Kati Piri (S&D), schriftelijk. – Minderjarige alleenreizende vluchtelingen, zo noemen we de kinderen die zonder ouders aan onze grenzen verschijnen op zoek naar bescherming tegen oorlog, geweld en onderdrukking. Kinderen die op eigen houtje of slechts met broertjes en zusjes de reis naar Europa overleefd hebben. Kinderen waarvoor in de aankomstlanden Griekenland en Italië al lang geen fatsoenlijke opvang of enige vorm van voogdij meer is, waardoor er een groot risico is ontstaan dat zij ‘verdwijnen’ in de prostitutie, criminaliteit of kinderarbeid, of dat ze worden geronseld door extremisten.
Europese regeringen sluiten deze kinderen regelmatig op in detentiecentra, tegen alle internationale afspraken in. Maar het is fout om niet voor deze extreem kwetsbare groep te zorgen. Deze vluchtelingen dienen alle bescherming te krijgen die zij verdienen. Alleen door een fatsoenlijke opvang te creëren en kinderen genoeg aandacht te geven maken zij een kans om te integreren in onze samenleving en in Europa te werken aan een stabiele toekomst. Zij mogen nooit de dupe worden van de gebrekkige solidariteit in de EU en het uitblijven van een politiek akkoord over de eerlijke verdeling van vluchtelingen tussen de lidstaten.
Josef Weidenholzer (S&D), schriftlich. – Kinder und Minderjährige zählen zu den schutzbedürftigsten Menschen. Laut UNICEF leben 5,4 Millionen junge MigrantInnen in Europa, von welchen 46 % unbegleitet bzw. von ihren Eltern getrennt sind. Speziell Kinder sind im besonderen Ausmaß von den Gefahren durch Menschenhandel und Ausbeutung betroffen. Daher sind die Mitgliedstaaten dazu aufgefordert, alles in ihrer Macht Stehende zu leisten, das dem Kindeswohl dient. Es fehlt in den Mitgliedstaaten immer noch an Kinderschutzeinrichtungen, die sich um die psychologische und psychiatrische Unterstützung von minderjährigen Flüchtlingen kümmern. Mithilfe von grenzüberschreitender Zusammenarbeit müssen die Suche nach vermissten Kindern intensiviert und die Bekämpfung von Kinderhandel forciert werden. In Hotspots und Grenzübergängen muss ein Zugang zu Kinderschutzbeauftragten bereitgestellt werden. Aber auch die Integration in den Mitgliedstaaten muss weiter gefördert werden. Um eine rasche Integration zu gewährleisten, ist auch die Mithilfe der Mitgliedstaaten gefragt. Die Integration in Schulen dauert in den verschiedenen Ländern unterschiedlich lange, und teilweise sind Minderjährige drei Monate nach Stellung des Asylantrages immer noch nicht in Bildungseinrichtungen untergebracht. Allen Kindern, insbesondere unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen, muss ein ehestmöglicher Zugang zu Unterkunft, Gesundheitsversorgung, formaler und inklusiver Bildung bereitgestellt sowie Sprachkurse angeboten werden. Bei der Unterbringung von Minderjährigen ist Augenmerk darauf zu legen, dass Minderjährige getrennt von Erwachsenen untergebracht werden, um der Gefahr von Gewalt und sexuellem Missbrauch vorzubeugen.