Activities of Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL related to 2020/2116(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights protection and the EU external migration policy (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on human rights protection and the EU external migration policy
Amendments (28)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
- having regard to Article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)
Citation 26 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 24 November 2020 entitled ‘Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion’ (COM(2020)0758),
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)
Citation 26 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 9 March 2020 entitled ‘Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa’ (JOIN(2020) 4 final),
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 b (new)
Citation 26 b (new)
- having regard to the Malta Declaration of 3 February 2017 by the members of the European Council on the external aspects of migration,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 c (new)
Citation 26 c (new)
- having regard to the Statement by the co-presidency of the 5th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean held on 27 November 2020,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas migration is a global phenomenon amplified by globalisation, rising conflicts, inequalities, and climate disruption; whereas gradual, normative development within the modern international human rights framework of the rights of migrants, independently of their legal status, and refugees represents a source of progress and collective pride for humanity; whereas migrants remain, however, among the most vulnerable groups worldwide and continue to face violations of their rights; whereas migration continues to be for many individuals a human journey marred by suffering, discrimination and violence; whereas for the European Union migration has been and will continue to be one of its defining intergenerational challenges and opportunities; whereas Member States whose geographical location places them on the front line are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden; whereas Europe has had to deal with the rise in the numbers of asylum seekers since the migration crisis peaked in 2015; whereas the European Union, as a historic region of both emigration and immigration and as a community united by founding values of human dignity, freedom and human rights, has a particular duty to respect, protect and promote the rights of migrants, notably in its external dealings;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas migration routes are often exploited by criminal organisations and human trafficking networks and whereas, in order to disrupt the business model of traffickers and thus prevent the tragic loss of lives, the incentives that push illegal migrants to embark on dangerous crossings must be eradicated;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the Canary Islands (Spain) are an external EU border facing the coasts of a key region for EU external action;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas more than 20 000 migrants arrived by sea in the Canary Islands (Spain) throughout 2020, a rise of 1019% compared to the previous year;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in its communication on the new Pact on Migration and Asylum of 23 September 2020, the Commission reiterated that the internal and external dimensions of migration are inextricably linked and that working in close collaboration with third countries is essential, therefore, in order to address valuable objectives for both sides, such as the root causes of illegal migration, combating migrant smuggling, helping refugees residing in third countries and supporting well-managed legal migration; whereas it emphasised, furthermore, that in the framework of these comprehensive partnerships with third countries migration should be built in as a core issue and linked to other policies, such as those relating to development cooperation, security, visas, trade, agriculture, investment and employment, energy, environment and climate change and education;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the European Union's approach to migration is focused above all on establishing agreements with third countries in territories adjoining the European continent; whereas an increasingly large proportion of asylum seekers come from visa-exempt countries (27% of first-time applicants in 2019) and from Latin America in particular, specifically the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas effective readmission of illegal migrants is a basic pillar of the new pact on migration and asylum presented by the Commission and should constitute an important element of the external dimension of the Union's migration policy;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020- 2024 commits the EU and its Member States tolays down lines of ambition and priorities, including the protection of individuals and the elimination of inequalities, discrimination and exclusion, specifically ‘advocateing for the specific protection to which migrants, refugees, and internally displaced and stateless persons are entitled’; whereas with this Action Plan commits the EU to ‘will promoting e ‘non- discriminatory access to social services, including quality and affordable healthcare and education (also online), and build[ing] practitioners’ capacity to respond to the specific needs of (...) migrants [and] refugees’ and to ‘support[ing] a human rights- based approach to migration governance and strengthen[ing] the capacity of states, civil society and UN partners to implement this approach’;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Reiterates that Member States need to ensure that the Union's external borders are properly controlled, with the aim of preventing illegal entry thereto, combating human trafficking and preventing lives being lost at sea; reiterates that, to achieve this, Member States have to be able to count on Union financial and material aid;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Notes that fair burden-sharing in the management of migration flows is a prerequisite for any truly European migration and asylum policy; reiterates that frontline Member States alone cannot deal with the migratory pressure on the entire European Union; points out that, according to the European Asylum Support Office, most asylum applications are dealt with by only five Member States;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Notes that the external dimension must be a key element of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum; stresses the importance of increased cooperation between the Union and, in particular, the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, in order to address the limitation of irregular migration flows, to combat trafficking in human beings and people smugglers and to guarantee migrants' human rights; urges the EU institutions and the Member States, to that end, to step up their relations with the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood through frequent political contacts, including in the framework of fora such as the Union for the Mediterranean;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Is concerned about the rapid growth of unaccompanied migrant minors, whose presence has multiplied in recent years in some EU countries, which shows that criminal networks have found in them one of the main channels for their criminal activity;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Observes that the Commission has yet to evaluate the impact of the implementation of its successive migration policy frameworks, notably the GAMM and the new Partnership Framework, on the human rights of TCNs as well as the human rights impact of the EU’s cooperation on migration with third countries; insists on the need to carry out such an evaluation in a comprehensive, inclusive and public format with a view to ensuring the full human rights compliance of the EU’s external migration policy; calls on the Commission to review the EU's migration policy on an annual basis;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reiterates that for the Union's migration policy to function properly and be sustainable, it should combine increased external cooperation with the countries of origin and transit with a substantial increase in the numbers of irregular migrants who are genuinely readmitted;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the increased role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in practical and operational cooperation with third countries, including on return and readmission, provision of training, operational and technical assistance to authorities of third countries for the purpose of border management and border control, carrying out operations or joint operations at the EU’s external borders or in the territories of third countries, and deploying liaison officers and operational staff in third countries; calls for an assessment of the needs of the Agency on a regular basis to ensure its optimal functioning and to strengthen its capacities where necessary;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Is deeply concerned about the mass influx of irregular migrants and vessels along the coasts of the Canary Islands; urges the EU institutions and the Member States to react quickly to these developments and to increase the technical and financial resources for protecting the Union's external border in the Canary Islands; urges in particular the European Asylum Support Office and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to step up their efforts to tackle the migration crisis in the Canary Islands;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Stresses that Regulation (EU) 2019/1240 on the creation of a European network of immigration liaison officers should further improve the capacity of the European Union to coordinate, cooperate and exchange information among immigration liaison officers deployed in third countries, the Commission and EU agencies, in order to respond more effectively to the Union's priorities in the field of migration, namely to prevent and combat illegal migration, to facilitate returns and to manage legal migration;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Highlights the key role of Europol in the fight against people smuggling; calls for the strengthening of the capacities of Europol's European Migrant Smuggling Centre, which provides support, cooperation and exchanges of information to third countries, in order to eradicate this transnational criminal practice;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Points out that the fight against people smuggling is a common challenge that requires cooperation and coordination with third countries in order to anticipate this phenomenon and that the ministerial conference between the EU and African partners in July 2020 confirmed the mutual determination to address this problem; stresses that the new EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling will promote cooperation between the EU and third countries through targeted partnerships to counter migrant smuggling, as part of broader partnerships with key third countries;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Is of the view that further assistance should be provided to countries in the Maghreb and Sahel regions to enable them to cope with the influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and to combat trafficking in human beings and people smuggling; stresses in this regard the need to strengthen judicial and police cooperation with those countries in order to identify and dismantle organised crime networks; draws attention, furthermore, to the need to build up the capacities of those countries so that they can pursue and sanction those responsible in an effective manner; calls, therefore, for cooperation between the European Union, the Member States, Europol, Eurojust, Frontex and the third countries concerned to be encouraged; reaffirms that measures taken against human trafficking should not adversely affect the rights of victims of trafficking, migrants, refugees and persons in need of international protection;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes with concern the increasing recourse since 2016 to enhanced conditionality betweeReiterates that according to Article 208 TFEU the primary objective of Union development cooperation and migrapolicy must be the reduction management, including return and readmission; stresses, however, that according to Article 208 TFEU the primary objective of Union development cooperation policy shall be the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty; calls, therefore, on the Commission to ensure that policies on development cooperation do not contravene the principles enshrined in Article 208 TFEU; stresses that the use of development cooperation as an incentive for migration management undermines meaningful action on the needs of people in developing countries, the rights of refugees and migrants, and their potential impact on regional migration patterns and contribution to local economies, and thus also undermines a wide range of rights stemming from the Sustainable Development Goalsd, in the long term, the eradication of poverty, without excluding other joint objectives such as climate and environmental action, economic and trade policies and migration management, and full and unconditional respect for the principles of fundamental human rights, democracy and good governance; calls, therefore, on the Commission to ensure that policies on development cooperation do not contravene the principles enshrined in Article 208 TFEU; calls on it also to ensure that cooperation under these policies should be based on the 'more for more' principle, concluding that any unwillingness to achieve comparable standards of human rights protection should lead to a reduction in EU support, without affecting humanitarian aid;