Activities of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2015/2342(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Addressing refugee and migrant movements: the role of EU External Action (debate) FR
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. whereas the humanitarian crisis affecting more than 65.3 million ‘displaced’ persons1 means that the distinction between people in need of international protection and migrants is becoming increasingly difficult to draw, including 21.3 million refugees and 40.8 million internally displaced persons (three times more displaced persons than in 2014) ; whereas 80% of migratory movements are between countries sharing a common border and very little difference in income, and that these countries have very rarely have instruments to protect of migrants’ rights, or any instruments in the field of asylum; whereas the distinction between people in need of international protection and migrants is becoming increasingly difficult to draw; whereas ever more minors are crossing the Mediterranean, and, despite the increasing number of rescues the number of deaths in the Mediterranean continues to rise (3 649 as of mid-October as against 3770 for the whole of 2015); _________________ 1 http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/6/5 763b65a4/global-forced-displacement-hits- record-high.html
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. whereas the United Nations High Commission for Refugees puts the number of stateless persons at at least 10 million;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that third countries, and developing countries in particular, are facing challenges that pose risks to the rights and the protection of a growing number of people;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. draws attention to the continuous need for the EU to take into account of the issue of statelessness in its external relations policy, particularly given that statelessness is a major cause of forced displacement, in line with the commitment made by the Commission and EEAS enshrined in the Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the European Union to open upCommission and the Member States to make progress towards concrete measures on opening up genuine legal and safe routes for migrants and refugees;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that Commission's proposal regarding resettlement programmes but worries fact that, irrespective of the country concerned, these programmes may be made contingent upon cooperation on returns;
Amendment 58 #
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; calls on the European Union to fund arrangements for protecting and looking after vulnerable persons, with a view, in particular, to ensuring that they are protected throughout their journeys as migrants, which should involve the setting aside of special areas for women and children;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is worried that EU external cooperation programmes with certain third countries could end up aggravating the situation of persons in need of international protection and undermining the right to leave any country including one’s own;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Condemns restrictions and prohibitions on migrants' leaving or returning imposed by certain states and the effects of statelessness on access to rights; calls, therefore, on national governments and parliaments to abolish punitive legal frameworks that treat migration as an infringement;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Expresses deep concern at the increasingly frequent reports of violations of the rights of refugees and migrants, in particular those arriving from Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria and the Horn of Africa (involving refoulement, arbitrary detention and lack of legal status);
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Recalls its support for the right to live in family groups and family reunification;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Is concerned at the systematic advancement of readmission agreements, including as a condition for any agreement and all forms of EU support;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls for a visa liberalisation policy that is coherent with EU external policy as a whole
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines that concepts of safe countries and safe countries of origin should not prevent individual assessments of asylum applications, and that, whatever their circumstances, migrants in need of international protection should be able to submit an asylum application that must be processed in accordance with international law; demands that migrants have access to a complaint mechanism and are afforded suitable guarantees in respect of non-refoulement;
Amendment 113 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Expresses its concern about the treatment of migrants who are sent back to their country of origin or to a third country; recalls that migrants should not be returned to a country where they may be at risk of mistreatment and torture; recalls that mass expulsions and refoulement are prohibited under international law;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for the assessment and budgetary control of funds used as part of the Union’'s external policies on migration, and in particular the Rabat and Khartoum processes, the EU-Turkey Agreement and the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, in terms of the implementation, impact, continuity and coherence of the different financial instruments available in the European Union to assist third countries; is concerned by the Commission's first progress report in this field, which highlights lack of cooperation on returns in Ethiopia in particular, a country which has just declared a state of emergency;
Amendment 130 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls for closer parliamentary scrutiny of working arrangements concluded with third countries and the external cooperation activities of EU agencies concerned; regrets in particular the lack of parliamentary scrutiny of external activities of the European Borders Agency;
Amendment 132 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Is concerned that policies on securing, even militarising, border control may jeopardise migrants' and refugees' right to leave any country, right to life, right to international protection and right to personal safety, especially in the absence of an alternative migration channel that is legal and safe; emphasises that military operations should not be the focus of any holistic approach to migration and calls for saving lives at sea to be at the heart of all missions operating in the Mediterranean;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Stresses the importance of consulting civil society in the framework of all the EU’s external policies, paying particular attention to full participation, transparency and proper dissemination of information on all migration-related policies and processes;
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Union to get involved in the debate on the terms ‘climate refugees’ and ‘environmentally displaced persons’ and refugees.