EUROPEAN COUNCIL  ON REFUGEES AND EXILES

 

CONSEIL EUROPEEN  SUR LES REFUGIES  ET LES EXILES

 

EUROPEAN COUNCIL  ON REFUGEES AND EXILES

 

CONSEIL EUROPEEN  SUR LES REFUGIES  ET LES EXILES

PR7/6/2007/Ext/ST/MR

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

ECRE calls for Portugal to prevent deaths at sea

 

(Brussels, 26 June 2007) As Portugal prepares to assume the Presidency of the European  Union, ECRE has issued a memorandum calling on the incoming Presidency to ensure that  the EUÕs asylum policy effectively balances control and protection. Recent incidents in the  Mediterranean have exposed the serious shortcomings of the EUÕs current approach to asylum  seekers and refugees, namely barriers to protection, the practice of burden-shifting and  existing rock-bottom standards.

 

ECRE Secretary General, Bjarte Vandvik, said:

 

ÒThe task for Portugal will be to lead Europe in developing effective mechanisms to  prevent the deaths of desperate people on the doorstep of the EU. Tragedies in the  Mediterranean, such as those so well documented recently, cannot be allowed to  continue. The EU must take collective responsibility rather than stand by and watch  people drownÓ.

 

Portugal will head the EU at a critical moment in the harmonisation process of the European  asylum system; only a few weeks ago the Commission initiated a broad public consultation  process with its Green Paper on the future of the Common European Asylum System. ECRE  believes that the Portuguese Government must secure a radical shift in Member StatesÕ  attitudes towards asylum and refugee policy, so that Member States commit to working  towards common rules, consistent with international human rights standards. These efforts  should be based on a willingness to share responsibility, not only with each other, but also to  share the global burden and responsibility for refugee protection with the rest of the world,  including through more use of resettlement.

 

Ò ECRE particularly welcomes PortugalÕs increased interest in resettlement. Portugal has the chance to set a positive example to other European colleagues by establishing a  comprehensive national resettlement scheme,Ó Vandvik continued.

 

Therefore, ECRE calls on Portugal and all EU Member States:

 

-To guarantee safe access to their territory for people in need of international protection, and to take immediate steps to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives on the EUÕs borders;

 

-To re-design the EUÕs current life-endangering Ôburden-shiftingÕ system, the Dublin II  Regulation, to a fairer responsibility-sharing system, in a spirit of true solidarity;

 

-To change their emphasis from the deterrence of asylum seekers and prevention of  alleged abuse of the asylum system, to the creation of a welcoming society which  offers a new home to a particularly vulnerable group of people;

 

-To demonstrate tangibly in its relations with countries of transit or origin that the EU  is not only interested in pursuing restrictive policies of migration control, aimed at  stopping irregular migration, but also committed to high standards of refugee  protection, as otherwise poorer countries which host the majority of the worldÕs  refugees may be tempted to follow suit, with grave consequences for the international  protection system;

 

-To review the approach to returns policies, particularly with regard to negotiations on  the draft returns directive, with a view to create conditions conducive to voluntary,  dignified and sustainable returns and to promote integration at home, reconstruction  and development in asylum seekersÕ countries of origin;

 

-To offer a comprehensive package of assistance to countries outside of the EU with  protracted refugee situations, including resettlement of the most vulnerable refugees;

 

-To ensure that the debate on the future of the Common European Asylum System is  conducted in an open and transparent way, allowing for thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the instruments already in place.

 

For further comments/background and interviews:

 

ECRE Secretary General, Bjarte Vandvik

 

Tel: +32 2 234 3806 or +32 496288 047

 

Bvandvik@ecre.org

 

ECRE Head of Policy and Advocacy, Chris Nash

Tel: +44 207 377 7556 ext 221

 

CNash@ecre.org

 

Note for the editors:

 

1) The European Council on Refugees and Exiles represents 76 refugee assisting NGOs in 30 European  Countries, and is concerned with the protection and integration of all individuals seeking protection in  Europe. For further information see www.ecre.org.

2) ECREÕs detailed memorandum to the Portuguese Presidency, Balancing Protection and Control in the  Common European Asylum System, can be accessed at  http://www.ecre.org/resources/responses_recommendations/886

3) ECRE issued a series of five papers entitled EuropeÕs role in the global refugee protection system. The  Way Forward: An Agenda for Change. These proposals provide constructive recommendations on a  number of topical refugee policy issues to positively influence the European debate on: improving  refugee protection in regions of origin; developing European resettlement activities; creating fairer  and more efficient asylum systems in Europe; improving refugee integration; the return of asylum  seekers whose applications have been rejected. ECREÕs Way Forward Papers are available at  http://www.ecre.org/topics/ecres_refugee_agenda_for_europe.

 

- Ends