European Union lawmakers have called on the bloc’s leaders to show real political will when discussing the migration crises during the upcoming EU summit in Brussels on June 28-29.
The MEPs addressed European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Monika Panayotova, on June 12.
According to an EU press release, some of the political groups urged EU leaders at the summit to put an end to formal discussions on migration and start working towards an agreement on the so-called “Dublin system”. They referred to the new Italian government’s recent decision to refuse a boat carrying migrants, the MS Aquarius, to dock in the country over the weekend as a “disgrace” and “a scandal”.
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani also called on EU leaders at the summit to press ahead with overhauling the Dublin rules, whilst pointing out that the European Parliament has adopted a clear position on the matter, based on solidarity.
Some groups also stressed the need to build new European reception centres to assist migrants arriving in transit countries. Others highlighted that a solution to solve the migration crises, based on quotas and mandatory reallocation of refugees, simply cannot work, as demonstrated so far, and that other options need to be put on the table.
