Activities of Louis MICHEL related to 2015/2342(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on addressing refugee and migrant movements: the role of EU external action
Amendments (23)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. whereas thea humanitarian crisis is affecting more than 65.3 million ‘displaced’ persons1 means that the distinction betweenfleeing conflict and persecution; whereas movements of persons are often made up of people in need of international protection and migrants is becoming increasingly difficult to draw, and this generally complicates the situation; _________________ 1 http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/6/5 763b65a4/global-forced-displacement-hits- record-high.html
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. welcomes the reference in the Commission communication of 7 June 2016 to the need to adopt each new pact to suit the situation in each third country concerned; notes the will for these pacts to reflect the many-faceted nature of EU policy; therefore calls for the relevant committees at Parliament to be kept duly informed of the steps taken to conclude any new pact to enable Parliament to vote on the applicable instruments envisaged to suit the specific conditions of each third country concerned.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. stresses that, when justified by the situation in the third country concerned, the pacts should address, as soon as possible, the issue of resettlement or other legal channels for granting international protection within the EU;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas 65 million people – including 40.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 21.3 million refugees – have been forcibly displaced because of conflicts, violence, poor socioeconomic prospects, and human rights violations, further to people displaced on account of natural disasters;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes the New York Declaration of 19 September 2016, and welcomes the will to seal two global compacts on refuges and migrants by 2018; calls on the EU to coordinate the involvement of the Member States in the drafting of these compacts; takes the view in this connection that the EU should prioritise stepping up global resettlement efforts, thereby ensuring that the international community takes its responsibilities in respect of resettlement needs worldwide; calls, therefore, for swift progress on the file on the EU framework for resettlement in order to maximise the EU’s influence in this area;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas thisglobal challenges requires global solutions and a multilateral approach; whereas, however, 86 % of the world’s refugees live in developing regions, with least developed countries hosting 26 % of the total; whereas the million people who arrived in the EU in 2015 represented 0.2 % of the EU population, compared with much higher percentages in neighbouring countries;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the European Union to open up legal and safe routes for migrants and refugeeStresses that the fight against irregular migration must go hand-in- hand with the establishment and strengthening of legal migration channels; calls, therefore, on the European Union to open up legal and safe routes for migrants and refugees; recalls in this regard the position of the European Parliament, expressed in its resolution of 12 April 2016, that an EU resettlement scheme is required to find homes for a significant number of refugees, given global resettlement needs;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas concerted and firm EU action is the best guarantee of a sustainable approach to the migration and refugee phenomenon;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for international protection to be provided to people fleeing conflicts, including through resettlement programmes and humanitarian visas; takes note of the Commission's proposal regarding the establishment of a Union framework on resettlement but calls for work to continue at EU level on the creation and strengthening of legal routes that would be complementary to resettlement;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the increase in human mobility, if managed in a safe, orderly, regular and responsible manner, can provide significant benefits, as recognised by the 2030 Agenda, but these are often largely underestimated; whereas the ageing of the European population requires, among other measures, relying on foreign workersEU must produce workable solutions, including making use of foreign workers, in anticipation of increasing European population ageing, in order to guarantee an adequate balance between the active and retirednon-active peopleulations in the EU;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Reiterates Parliament’s position, expressed in its resolution of 12 April 2016, favouring EU readmission agreements over bilateral agreements concluded by Member States with third countries; recalls the recent drafting of a new European document on returns, and stresses that its recognition should be systematically promoted in any new readmission agreement;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Expresses its concern aboutCalls for greater vigilance regarding the treatment of migrants who are sent back to their country of origin or to a third country; takes the view that any dialogue on return and readmission, particularly in respect of readmission agreements, should systematically address the issue of the safe return and reintegration of migrants;
Amendment 118 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Reiterates the importance of cooperation with third countries in the fight against human trafficking and smugglers in order that networks can be tackled as far upstream as possible; stresses in this regard the need to strengthen judicial and police cooperation with these countries in order to identify and dismantle the networks; recalls furthermore the need to build up the capacities of these countries so that they can pursue and sanction in an effective manner those responsible; calls therefore for cooperation between the European Union, the Member States, Europol, Eurojust and the third countries concerned to be encouraged;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. States that human-trafficking and smuggler networks make full use of the Internet in carrying out their criminal activities and it is therefore vital that the European Union steps up its action, particularly within Europol and the IRU, and its cooperation with third countries in this regard;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Recalls to mind that traffickers may use legal migration routes to bring their victims to Europe; considers that the criteria third countries are required to meet prior to any visa liberalisation agreement with the European Union ought specifically to include cooperation by said third countries in combating human trafficking; calls on the Commission to pay special attention to both this issue and that of combating smugglers in all talks on negotiating these agreements;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that well-managed international migration represents an important contribution to socioeconomic development, as it has done historically, and that it is necessary to encourage this by changing the current narrative and developingthe narrative employed in this connection must be a positive one, countering xenophobic, populist and nationalistic discourses and adopting policies focused on the medium and long term and not exclusively guided by immediate political pressures or national electoral considerations, while also addressing legitimate concerns regarding border management, social protection for vulnerable groups and integration of refugees and migrants;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that EU development cooperation should continue to address the root causes of forced displacement by promoting peace, democracy and security, reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening basic services, addressing state fragility and promoting human rights and good governance, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 16 in the new 2030 Agenda; underscores the need to improve policy coherence for development (PCD);
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses the need to establish a framework and make appropriate arrangements in countries of origin for receiving vulnerable and marginalised returned migrants in a dignified way and enabling them to integrate successfully in socio-cultural terms;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses the crucial role of women in cases of forced displacement, not only as they are more vulnerable to certain abuse, but also because of the role they play in responding to emergencies, their socioeconomic contributions and their active participation in conflict resolution and prevention and the rebuilding of a democratic society; notes that a focus on women’s empowerment is therefore necessary to address the deeper causes of forced displacement; reiterates the importance of adding a gender perspective to the EU policies addressing movements of migrants and refugees;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses nonetheless the need to find durable diplomatic and political solutions to violent conflicts and to invest in early-warning and conflict- prevention mechanisms so as to reduce them in the future; calls for the EU to take a more active and effective role in the field of prevention and mediation; stresses that the response to forced displacement needs to be rights-based and take account of the population’s vulnerabilities – in particular as regards women and minors – and not be limited to humanitarian assistance but also involve development actors;
Amendment 498 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Points out that EUR 3.6 billion was supposed to be paid into the emergency trust fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, launched at the Valletta Summit; calls on the Member States to match the EUR 1.8 billion released by the Commission;
Amendment 531 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 20 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Stresses that, for the action it itself takes to combat people trafficking and people smuggling, the EU must have sufficient resources and operational tools to carry out the task properly, and also points to the need for stepped-up cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries in order to curtail the criminal and reprehensible practices of networks of smugglers and traffickers;