Activities of Bodil VALERO related to 2015/2095(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration (debate) SV
Shadow opinions (2)
OPINION on the situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration
OPINION on the situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration
Amendments (24)
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the Commission's commitment to take measures to improve the EU's migration policy in all its aspects by adopting a strategic European Agenda on Migration, which is a good first step; calls on the Commission to actively involve and take into account the recommendations of all relevant stakeholders and organisations when implementing the European Agenda on Migration and developing its future migration policies; Insists that any measure or decision adopted within the European migration and asylum policy should be based on respect for human rights and dignity, international standards and the values on which the EU is built;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the EU and its Member States to halt the construction of walls at the EU's external borders and to stop preventing refugees and migrants from reaching EU territory;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Expresses concern about the increased trend of illegal on-the-spot deportations, and rejects these practices as contrary to human rights and the rule of law; expresses deep concern about the fate of third country nationals and stateless persons readmitted under EU readmission agreements, including cases of indefinite detention, legal limbo or refoulement to their country of origin;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the persistent instability and conflicts in the EU's neighbourhood have a serious impact on the mass influx ofincreasing number of refugees and migrants; believes that a genuinelong-term response to the migration crisis in the Mediterranean will come only from tackling the root causes, namely ill- governance, poverty, instability, wars, persecution, violations of human rights, climate change and natural disasters; is convinced that tackling these root causes implies wide-ranging reforms on the European level, including of the EU's trade and foreign policies;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reiterates that legal immigration is not a socioeconomic burden for the EU but rather an opportunity, and as such furthermore a fair and proportional distribution among all Members States of the incoming flows is desirable;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Urges the EU and its Member States to substantially step up their diplomatic efforts to settle the ongoing conflicts in the EU's immediate neighbourhood from which many refugees are fleeing, namely Syria, Iraq and Libya;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Warns about the increased trend of the illegal on-the-spot deportations, such as in the fences bordering Morocco in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and frontally rejects these practices as contrary to human rights and rule of law; draws attention also to the cases of unwilling deportations to non-EU countries other than the origin countries, which leaves undocumented people without the possibility to exit these third countries;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. AStresses that any agreement with a third country, including in the South Mediterranean region, in the field of migration should be concluded after a careful human rights impact assessment and include a suspension clause in relation to human rights; advocates broader and intensified EU cooperation with third countries of origin and transit, through bilateral agreements, in order to clamp down on smuggling and trafficking networks, to ensure capacity building in the fields of asylum systems and border control, to provide protection for people in need, and to develop frameworks for regular migration and mobility, and to put into force a humane and effective return policy for irregular migrant; calls on the Commission to develop monitoring mechanisms, which allow for public scrutiny of migration policies, including by involving civil society in third countries;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers the important preventive measures contained in the Commission’s agenda for fighting smuggling networks and tackling the root causes of migration to be long-term objectives, but recalls that, meanwhile, flows of people will continue and that a permanent relocation mechanism for people in need of international protection based on fair objective criteria, and as far as possible on asylum seekers’ own preferences, is needed as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure a meaningful revision of the Dublin Regulation in order to alleviate sudden and disproportionate migration pressure on Member States such as Italy and Malta, which are more directly exposed to migrant flows, without undermining the security of the Union’s external borders;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the EU and the Member States to provide an international framework for dialogue and a comprehensive debate on migration with third countries of origin and transit in order to ensure closer solidarity and cooperation with the EU, and address the root causes of migration and ensure progress on negotiations and full implementation of readmission agreemen; urges to pay particular attention to cases linked to requests for political asylum so as to prevent any return potentially entailing a violation of human rights;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on key origin and transit countries for irregular migration to the EU to implement the existing bilateral readmission agreements fully and effectively; highlights, furthermore, the need to improve cross-border cooperation with neighbouring EU Member States in this respect, including through enhanced operational and technical cooperation with FRONTEX; believes, at the same time, that the EU should establish a binding resettlement programme with yearly quotas and a permanent mandatory and automatically triggered relocatiBelieves that the EU should establish a binding resettlement programme with yearly quotas and a permanent mandatory and flexible relocation system across the EU based on fair objective criteria, such as family and cultural ties, and as far as possible on asystem across the EUlum seekers own preferences;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the need to develop a structured mechanism, as well as accessible and transparent procedures to enter the EU for both asylum seekers and labour migration;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Believes furthermore that the single- most effective means to save lives in the Mediterranean region and to prevent life- threatening transport by traffickers is to establish regular, legal and safe routes towards the EU for both labour migrants and asylum seekers; calls on Member States to make use of the existing possibilities to provide for humanitarian visas at EU embassies and consular offices in countries of origin, transit countries or so called ‘hot spots' in third countries;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the European Union to abolish directive 2001/51/EC that forces carriers, that transport foreign nationals into the EU, to pay for the return of those nationals, should they not have the proper documentation, and in doing so effectively deny refugees of their human right to seek asylum, while also handing over the responsibility to ask for documentation from border control on to the carriers;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomNotes the launch of the EUNAVFOR Med operation against smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean and supports the reinforcement of the management of the Union's external borders; insists, however, on the need for sustained; stresses the need to transform this operation into a purely and permanent, coordinated European search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean to save lives and; rejects VP/HR Mogherini's initiative to launch phase two of the operation which could lead to the unintentional use of lethal force against unarmed migrants and refugees; calls for an EU policy on asylum, subsidiary protection and temporary protection which fully comply with binding obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and respect the non-refoulement principle;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that fairer trade and development assistance plays a crucial role in tackling the root causes of migration; calls, therefore, on all EU Member States to fulfil their promises in terms of development assistance, including the 0,7- percent target; stresses the need for continuous EU support to international efforts towards poverty reduction, as well as to peace-building, promotion of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, regional, political and economic stability, security and prosperity.;
Amendment 146 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission and EU Member States to take the necessary legislative and administrative steps to allow for the provision of emergency visas and facilitating temporary shelter for human rights defenders at risk in the Mediterranean region; urges Member States to pay particular attention to cases linked to requests for political asylum so as to prevent any return potentially entailing a violation of human rights;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Underlines that the continued refusal of Member States to accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which is a core international human rights convention, undermines the fundamental principle of indivisibility of human rights and diminishes the credibility of the EU when engaging with third countries on human rights issues, notably from the Southern Mediterranean region; calls on all Member States to urgently ratify this Convention;
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Expresses concern with the increasing demands being placed on neighbourhood countries in relation to EU's migration and border management policies; calls for a human rights-based approach to EU migration and border management, which ensures that the rights of regular and irregular migrants, refugees and other vulnerable groups are always the first consideration; recalls the extra-territorial application of the European Convention on Human Rights in the implementation of EU migration policy, as ruled by the European Court of Human Rights;
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Expresses concern at the reports of widespread ill-treatment and arbitrary detention of refugees and migrants by countries from the Southern Mediterranean region; urges the EU to raise this issue in the course of its human rights dialogues and justice, freedom and security subcommittees with these countries and to step up its assistance in this field;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Requests that the Commission consults the European Parliament prior to the conclusion of any agreement between Frontex and a third country; insists that these agreements must provide for adequate safeguards for ensuring that human rights standards are fully respected, including with regards to return, joint patrolling, search and rescue or interception operations;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that full use should be made of existing instruments, such as the agencies’ risk analyses; observes that Union agencies should cooperate fully, but that they also need to step up cooperation with Member States; notes that better coordination of efforts should allow for the collection of relevant data at national level and its onward communication to the Agencies;
Amendment 592 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Points out that one option for a fundamental overhaul of the Dublin system would be to establish a central collection of applications at Union level – viewing each asylum seeker as someone seeking asylum in the Union as a whole and not in an individual Member State – and to establish a central system for the allocation of responsibility for any persons seeking asylum in the Union; suggests that such a system could provide for certain relative thresholds per Member State, above which no further allocation of responsibility could be made until all other Member States have met their own thresholds, which could conceivably help in deterring secondary movements, as all Member States would be fully involved in the centralised system and no longer have individual responsibility for allocation of applicants to other Member States; believes that such a system could function on the basis of a number of Union ‘hotspots’ from where Union distribution should take place; underlines that any new system for allocation of responsibility must incorporate the key concepts of family unity and the best interests of the child;