Activities of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2017/2270(INL)
Plenary speeches (1)
Humanitarian visas (debate) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT with recommendations to the Commission on Humanitarian Visas PDF (464 KB) DOC (81 KB)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas despite numerous announcements and requests for safe legal pathways offering access to European territory for persons seeking international protection there is currently no harmonisation at EU level of protected entry procedures (PEPs) and no legal framework at European level for humanitarian visas, i.e. visas issued for the purpose of reaching the territory of the Member States in order to seek international protection, even though the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognises a 'right of asylum';
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the number of persons admitted on the basis of national protected entry procedures or through resettlement remain low in comparison to the need, with significant disparities between Member States; whereas the scope of these possibilities is equally narrow and in case of resettlement only includes persons who have already been recognised as refugees and who fulfil further vulnerability or geographical criteria;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas - as a result - an estimated 90% of those granted international protection have reached the Union through irregular means, which leads to them being stigmatised before they even arrive at the external borders of the Member States, in complete disregard for their fundamental rights;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the human cost of these policies has been put at 30 000 deaths at least at the EU's borders since 2000; whereas a Union legal framework is urgently needed as one means to address the intolerable death toll in the Mediterranean and on the migration routes to the Union, to truly combat human smuggling, and human trafficking, exposure to labour exploitation and violence on the black market, to manage the orderly arrival, reception and processwhich generate earnings of asylum claims and to reduce Member States’ and Union costs for asylum, law enforcement, border control, surveillance and search and rescue activities as well as to avoid fragmentation through diverging national practices risking to undermine common policies and the Union acquisup to USD 32 billion and between USD 7 and 10 billion respectively, exposure to labour exploitation, undeclared work, forced labour and forms of violence which may include slavery;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the Schengen Border Code (SBC), which seeks to lay down rules on the monitoring of persons crossing or manifestly intending to cross the EU's external borders, fails to take proper account of the situation of asylum seekers, neither in the general criteria set out in its Article 6 nor in the exceptions it lays down, despite the references to non- refoulement and to the obligations concerning access to international protection in its Articles 3 and 4;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 3 – subi. –1 (new)
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 3 – subi. –1 (new)
-1. Practical implementation by the European Union and its Member States of their international obligations, in particular under Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Convention on the status of refugees and the 1967 Protocol on the status of refugees;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 7
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 7
– provide for such visa applications to be lodged directly, by electronic means or in writing, at any consulate or embassy of the Member States; in each case, the representation competent to receive a uniform visa application for the purposes of requesting asylum shall be that which is the closest and/or the safest for the applicant, in order to minimise the risk to the applicant of persecution or serious harm,
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 7 a (new)
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 7 a (new)
– provide procedural guarantees, including legal assistance, information, translation and representation at each stage in procedures, and access to the UNHCR and other relevant organisations which support asylum seekers, in order to safeguard the right to be heard during the interview and throughout the preparation of the application and the process of considering it,
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 8
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 8
– provide for admissibility criteria for such visa applications which match non- refoulement guarantees, including the filling out of an application form, the provision of information on the applicant’s identity, including biometric identifiers (ten fingerprints and facial image taken life), and the provision of reasons, as far as possible documented, of the fear of persecution or serious harm, in accordance with Articles 4 and 19(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights,
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 9
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 9
– provide that the applicant for such a visa be invited to an interview, which may also be conducted by remote means of audio and video communication, which ensure an appropriate level of safety, security and confidentiality, taking account of the vulnerability of the applicant; points out that that interview should not predetermine the granting or otherwise of refugee status, as that decision will only be taken when the applicant arrives, following detailed consideration of the subsequent asylum application and in accordance with the guarantee of a fair trial under the ordinary procedure provided for in Directive 2013/32/EU,
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 10
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 10
– provide that the documents submitted be assessed, including as regards their authenticity, by athe competent, independent, and impartial authority, with adequate knowledge and expertise in matters of international protection authority,
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 10 a (new)
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 10 a (new)
– guarantee that the visa can be issued as a preventive measure to rule out any violation of the principle of non- refoulement and that the benefit of the doubt will be granted to the applicant, unless there is irrefutable evidence from independent sources to justify turning down the visa application;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 11
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 11
– provide that applications for such a visa, once declared admissible, be assessed on a prima facie basis to consider whether applicants have an arguable claim of exposure to a real risk of persecution or serious harm without conducting a full status determination process; points out that 'prima facie' assessments must not be part of the refugee status determination process and that the assessment must not predetermine the granting or otherwise of refugee status, as that decision will only be taken when the applicant arrives, following detailed consideration of the asylum application,
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 12
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 12
– provide that each applicant for such a visa be subject to a security screening, including by searching SIS, ECRIS-TCN, and Europol data, to ensure that he or she does not pose such a risk, as defined in Article 1F of the 1951 Convention on the status of refugees, in compliance with the principles of proportionality, necessity and effective judicial review,
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 14
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 14
– provide that the decision on the application be communicated to the applicant and that it be individualised, written and motivated, in a language that the applicant can understand, setting out the relevant deadlines and details of appeal procedures,
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 15
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 15
– provide that a third-country national refused such a visa have the possibility for an appeal and be given redress as is currently foreseen in the case of a refusal of a short- stay visa or a refusal of entry at the border, taking account of the safety and vulnerability of the applicant,
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 17
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 17
– provide that once a humanitarian visa is issued it allows its holder to enter the territory of the Member State issuing the visa for the sole purpose of making an application for international protection in that Member State,
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 20
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 20
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 24
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 24
– be implemented in several stages, beginning with a transition period of two years before its provisions become applicable, to allow for the necessary preparations to be made, followed by a further period of three years, during which its application is limited geographically to applicants residing in certain third countries to be decided upon by means of delegated acts, taking account of EUROSTAT and UNHCR data on recognition rates and global protection needs per year,
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 25
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 25
– be evaluated after two years from the start of its application in view of deciding on a further progressive roll-out to cover ultimately all relevant refugee- producing third countries,
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 1
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 1
– the Visa Code to clarify that for persons seeking international protection the provisions of the act establishing a European Humanitarian Visa apply,
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 3
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 3
– the Schengen Borders Code to adjust the entry conditions for persons seeking international protectionwho have obtained a humanitarian visa, with a view to guaranteeing them access to European territory,
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 5
Annex I – paragraph 1 – indent 27 – subi. 5
– the instruments constituting the Common European Asylum System, in particular the Dublin Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Directive, to ensure that any results of the examination of an application for a humanitarian visa are taken into account in the procedures conducted once the person seeking protection has reached the territory of the Member Stateswith a view to guaranteeing holders of humanitarian visas access to European territory.