EU resettlement: stopping the business of migrant smuggling

A common European resettlement policy which will help people in need of asylum and prevent lost lives on smuggling routes was adopted today by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee.

Agustín Díaz de Mera MEP, the EPP Group’s Spokesman on the legislative proposal, said: “The new rules will allow people escaping life-threatening conditions in their home countries to receive asylum in the EU based on clearly-defined procedures. The opening of legal pathways for accepting migrants who are in need of protection according to international law will also be another step in our fight with smugglers. It is the EU’s duty to show its solidarity and to stop the tragedies we have witnessed in the seas around our borders.”

The proposal sets common procedures the Member States will have to follow when resettling migrants from third countries. It also defines which migrants are eligible for resettlement. “We did not forget about security when we were negotiating the new resettlement framework. Anyone who does not successfully get through the security checks in the Schengen Information System will be automatically excluded”, added Díaz de Mera.

Today, the resettlement of people in need of international protection is based on various national, multilateral or ad-hoc schemes. The draft legislation will create a permanent framework with a unified procedure for resettlement across the EU. The number of people to be resettled every year, their redistribution within the EU and countries from which the resettlement will take place will be proposed regularly by the Commission in an implementing act. The EU will help Member States financially with the resettlement. For each resettled person, Member States will be entitled to €10,000 from the Union's budget.