Activities of Marie-Christine ARNAUTU related to 2015/2095(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration (A8-0066/2016 - Roberta Metsola, Kashetu Kyenge) FR
Amendments (14)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Points out, nonetheless, that the first duty of any government is to ensure the safety of the public, maintain law and order and guarantee its country’s territorial integrity, and that in exceptional circumstances certain international conventions must be disregarded in order to discharge that duty; notes that the EU Member States are currently experiencing a mass invasion of migrants that must be stemmed; is aware that thousands of illegal immigrants who have recently arrived in Europe were members of terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria; points out that Islamic State has on several occasions pledged to send fighters – in particular from Libya – to Europe;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1. Acknowledges that we are currently faced with an exceptional situation requiring Member States to take appropriate contingency measures;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the factNotes that in the period 1 January until 31 May 2015, in which a total of 47 265 illegal immigrants were rescued at sea in the Mediterranean Sea, 13 475 were rescued by merchant vessels; takes note that in these five months, 302 merchant vessels were asked to re-route and change course to assist in rescue operations, of which 104 vessels actively rescued and disembarked migrants; illegal immigrants; draws attention to the fact that over the same period 1 770 illegal immigrants perished in the Mediterranean Sea; emphasises the fact that the Australian Government recorded no deaths off its coasts between January and May 2015; stresses that this remarkable achievement was made possible by the dissuasive effect of Operation Sovereign Borders, which has been in progress since 18 September 2013; points out that that operation consists in intercepting all vessels carrying illegal immigrants that enter Australian waters and taking them back outside those waters, under military escort; points out, furthermore, that the passengers of those vessels are given the choice or returning to their countries of origin or travelling to one of Australia’s ‘partner’ countries;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. EmphasisNotes, therefore, that merchant vessels have a significant role in rescue operations both in terms of volume and activity; points out the fact that merchant vessels have not been equipped and their staff have not been trained to make them sufficiently prepared to systematically take part in rescue operations; stresses that Operation Sovereign Borders is the example to follow here in that it prevents merchant ships from being placed unnecessarily in danger and arrangements of this kind would considerably reduce the number of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned that large-scale search and rescue operations are being organised in the Mediterranean and are being given broad media coverage; points out that this policy can only lead to a major increase in the number of people attempting to make the crossing in flimsy, overcrowded vessels and to more lives being lost at sea; is concerned also that, without vessels and their crew being sufficiently prepared, the situation will result in accidents in the Mediterranean Sea that mightwill inevitably lead to loss of human lives and alsowill entail environmental risks;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomDeplores the Commission Communication entitled ‘A European agenda on migration’ (COM (2015)0240) and strongly calls for adequate and immediatimmediate, appropriate and effective measures finally to be taken at both Member States and EU level to prevent further human miseries in the Mediterranean Sea and to ensure that international and ethical obligations are fulfilled in accordance with the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recommends that the Schengen Member States should suspend the Schengen agreement at the earliest opportunity; calls on those Member States to follow Hungary’s example in re- introducing border controls;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is deeply concerned about the ongoing migration crisis in the Mediterranean, in particular the humanitarian aspects but also area, principally because of the problems it is causing in the countries of arrival, and in particular on Greek and Italian islands, and is also concerned about its impact on maritime transport in the Mediterranean Sea by passenger ships, cruise ships and container ships, the safety of the vessels and their crew, and general maritime safety;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Member States, Council and Commission to immediately increase funding for temporary, sufficient rescuea large-scale joint operations in the Mediterranean, so that the safety and fundamental rights of both the refugees seeking to enter Europe and the maritime crews working in the Mediterranean waters can be guaranteedvolving the interception and turning back of vessels carrying illegal immigrants and the arrest of people smugglers in order to maintain law and order and ensure the safety of the peoples of Europe;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Encourages EU authorities and Member State authorities to fully deploy the existing vessel traffic monitoring and information systems in the Mediterranean Sea, to gather up-to- date information on vessels transiting across EUtheir coastlines, and to further develop the collaboration between the different maritime authorities, such as transport safety, naval and coastal guard authorities, in order to better coordinate and put into operation effective maritime safety functions and maintain a real-time situational overview to support rescusurveillance operations;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on Member States to deploy their maritime police and naval personnel in surveillance operations on the Mediterranean Sea, with a view to intercepting any vessels carrying immigrants and immediately escorting them out of EU territorial waters; recommends that they should conduct information campaigns to discourage potential immigrants from third countries from attempting to travel to Europe;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that Member States and authorities involved need to ensure a fluentthe immediate disembarkation of rescued refugees andillegal migrants in the appointed sea port from vessels which have been part of a rescue opera sea port in the country of embarkation;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on Member States to ask the authorities of the countries concerned to seize and immediately destroy vessels that have been or are about to be used to transport illegal immigrants;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on all parties involved in the situation in the Mediterranean to seek solutions to the refugee crisis, including efforts to improve the safety and human rights of the refugeeto learn from the immigration policy being pursued by Australia and, in general, to look for all possible ways of stemming the massive influx of migrants into their home countri Member States;