The European Parliament adopted by 449 votes to 130, with 93 abstentions, a resolution on the latest tragedies in the Mediterranean and EU migration and asylum policies.

The text adopted in plenary had been jointly tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, and Greens/EFA groups.

According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), more than 1500 migrants have died since the beginning of this year: the majority of the people trying to cross the Mediterranean fleeing conflicts or persecution in Syria, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia and Libya.

Deploring the tragic loss of life that occurred in the Mediterranean, Parliament requested the European Union and Member States to develop existing cooperation and do everything that is in their power to avoid other people perishing at sea.

Search and rescue operations: Parliament called on the Union and the Member States to ensure that search and rescue obligations are actually executed and duly financed. It welcomed the willingness of the European Council to give a new dimension to Operation Triton (coordinated by Frontex) by increasing its funding and its means. It invited the Union to give Operation Triton a clear mandate to increase its area of operation and to extend its mandate for search and rescue operations.

Members also advocated the establishment of a permanent and humanitarian European rescue operation which, like Mare Nostrum, would take place on the high seas, and which all Member States would help, either financially or by providing equipment and means.

Solidarity and fair division of responsibilities: Parliament deplored the lack of commitment of the European Council in favour of setting up a credible and binding mechanism of solidarity at the Union level. It stressed that the European Union should emphasise the equitable sharing of responsibility and solidarity towards the Member States receiving the largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers.

The resolution advocated:

• the establishment by the Commission of a binding quota for the distribution of asylum seekers between Member States;
• the use of the existing possibilities for issuing humanitarian visas in the embassies and consular offices of the Member States; the Council should consider the possibility of applying the 2001 Temporary Protection Directive or Article 78, paragraph 3, TFEU, which both offer a mechanism for solidarity in the case of influx of suddenly displaced people;
• the increase of the contribution of Member States to the resettlement programmes;
• the implementation of voluntary return policies, ensuring the protection of the rights of all migrants and guaranteeing a safe and legal access to European asylum system;
• a rapid and full transposition and effective implementation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) by all participating Member States.

Stressing the need for a comprehensive European Union approach, Parliament called for closer coordination between the policies of the Union and those of Member States to address the root causes of migration. The Union's cooperation with partner countries in the Middle East and Africa should be strengthened in order to promote democracy, freedoms and fundamental rights, security and prosperity. The root causes of violence and underdevelopment should be addressed in the country of origin in order to stem the flow of refugees and economic migrants.

Fight against human trafficking: Parliament invited the Member States to collaborate with the Frontex Agency, the European Asylum Support Office, Europol and Eurojust in the fight against human trafficking and criminal networks of smugglers, to identify and locate their funding and to analyse their operating modes. It stressed that the cooperation of third countries, in particular those that surround Libya, was essential for these criminal networks to be dismantled successfully.