Dimitrisz Avramopulosz migrációs ügyekért felelős uniós
biztos mai brüsszeli sajtótájékoztatóján Magyarországot érintő kérdésekről is
beszélt. Mint mondta, tegnap 8 millió eurós gyorssegélyt kért Magyarország
befogadókapacitásának kiterjesztésére. A biztos kiemelte, hogy a Bizottság
késlekedés nélkül kezeli a kérést. Ugyanakkor elmondta, hogy Magyarország
kezdeményezésére szeptember végén vagy október elején magasszintű konferenciát
tartanak a Nyugat-Balkán felől Magyarországra irányuló megnövekedett
menekülthullám okozta kihívások kezelésére. Újságírói kérdésekre válaszolva a
magyar-szerb határon épülő határzárról is kifejtette a Bizottság véleményét.
Dimitris Avramopoulos
Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner
You have all seen the news headlines – you are the ones
writing the reports – you know why I am here.
I have come here today at the request of President Juncker,
whom I spoke with again this morning and who, like me, remains gravely
concerned by the situation in our Member States.
Today the world finds itself facing the worst refugee crisis
since the Second World War. And Europe finds itself struggling to deal with the
high influxes of people seeking refuge within our borders.
Greece
Firstly, the situation in the country I know best has become
particularly urgent. Almost 50 000 migrants arrived in July compared to less 6
000 last year for the same month.
Managing the situation is of course first and foremost a
sovereign responsibility of the Member States.
We provide help where we can and to the greatest extent
possible, without, of course, replacing national responsibilities.
And I commend the Greek authorities for their efforts to
deal with a situation that it would be an understatement to describe as
challenging.
Yesterday I was in Athens to meet with the Minister of the
Interior and the Ministers responsible for Migration, Coordination of
government work, Public Order and Citizen Protection, Maritime Affairs and
Health and Social Security.
Together we came up with a game plan. A plan for how we can
work together to address a problem that is not Greek. A problem that is
European.
The immediate operational conclusions of our meeting are:
- Funding: Earlier
this week, the European Commission approved the national funding
programmes for Greece that amount to €474 million. As Prime Minister
Tsipras confirmed already last week, Greece is setting up the management
authority for these funds. Once it is formalised, the first disbursement
of €30 million will be made in 4-5 days' time and then the money can
start flowing immediately.
- Emergency
Funding: On top of this, the Commission is fast tracking the Greek
request for €2.74 million in emergency funding under the Internal Security
Funding to support the first reception response delivered by UNHCR to
newly arrived migrants on the Aegean islands.
In May, the emergency money was doubled from €25 million to
€50 million for 2015, with frontline countries like Greece in mind. I have
therefore asked Greece to put in a further request for emergency funding under
the Asylum Fund, which they will do.
- Civil
Protection Mechanism: I understand Greece will also now trigger the
Civil Protection Mechanism to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to
the Eastern Aegean Islands. This is the same mechanism used to send tents
to Hungary – it is EU solidarity at its core. The assistance can include
material assistance, expertise, intervention teams and modules, and
specific equipment. I call on all EU Member States to respond quickly to
this call and show solidarity with Greece. And I count on the support of
my colleague, Commissioner Stylianides to coordinate this.
Looking beyond the next few days:
- The
headquarter to implement the hotspot approach will be set up in Piraeus to
implement theHotspot approach already in place in Italy. There
will be a meeting of all EU Agencies, convened by the Commission, in
Greece on 25 and 26 August.
- The
Greek authorities have committed to make progress on the Greek Road Map
for Asylum. I welcome their commitment to present shortly an effective
plan to deal with the relocation of 16,000 people in clear need
of international protection to other EU Member States.
- We,
the Commission also commit to redoubling our efforts to cooperate with Turkey on
the management of the crisis. Very soon I will be visiting Turkey and I am
happy to be able to count on the support of my colleagues, High
Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Hahn in this regard as well.
- I
would like to reiterate my call on Member States to pledge the assets
needed for Frontex Joint-Operation Poseidon operating in
the Aegean Sea without delay. The Heads of state and government of every
one of the EU's 28 Member States unanimously committed to reinforcing the
number of assets.
A last note on Greece: we know the situation is not easy. We
know the great pressure on the country and the difficulties faced in addressing
it. We know that it is not unlinked to the economic situation.
And I want to express on my behalf and on behalf of this
institution and its President, my full support to Greece and to the Greek
people. We will stand together to address the challenges that lay before us –
showing solidarity and sharing responsibility.
The Road Ahead
Because if there is one thing that no one can deny any
longer, it is that it is patently obvious that on matters of migration, it is
Europe as a whole that is concerned. None of us are exempt. Let me touch
briefly on some of the most pressing issues I see at this point in time:
Hungary
If 50 000 people arrived in Greece in the month of July
alone, more than in the entirety of 2014, 35 000 arrived in Hungary in the same
period, meaning Hungary is joining Italy and Greece as the Member States most
exposed, on the frontline.
I travelled to Budapest on 30 June and discussed the matter
with the Hungarian authorities. And yesterday we received the official request
for €8 million in emergency assistance from Hungary to help expand reception
capacities. The Commission will treat the request without delay.
At the initiative of Hungary, a high-level conference will
be held in October in order to addresses the rising challenges posed by
increasing migratory flows to Hungary and central Europe via the Western
Balkans.
Austria
We have also received a request for emergency funding from
Austria to help with the rapid expansion of its reception facilities. The
independent committee that looks at the requests is meeting now to process it,
in order to release the funds by the end of August.
Calais
Lastly, the situation in Calais is another stark example of
the need for a greater level of solidarity and responsibility in the way we
deal with migratory pressures in Europe. I spoke with Interior Ministers
Theresa May and Bernard Cazeneuve last week and offered our support. I expect a
second request for emergency funding, on top of the €4 million granted to
France in February, to arrive shortly.
European Agenda / Valetta Summit
But money alone will not solve the problem. This is a
challenge we need to tackle from all angles. The Commission has set out a
European response in the form of the European Agenda on Migration.
One of the key elements will be making returns more
effective and stepping up our cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
To this end, we will hold a summit in Valetta in November with key African
countries and international organisations and I will travel to Niger with
French Interior Minister Cazeneuve and others to advance on the setting up of a
first pilot multi-purpose centre.
You can also count on the Commission to continue the swift
roll out of the Agenda, and come forward with further proposals on a relocation
mechanism for use in future emergency situations, as promised, at the end of
the year.
Conclusion
There is no simple, nor single, answer to the challenges
posed by migration. And nor can any Member State effectively address migration
alone. It is clear that we need this new, more European approach.
We need the collective courage to follow through on our
commitments – even when they are not easy; even when they are not popular.
I hope together we, Member States, Institutions, Agencies,
International Organisations, Third Countries, can prove we are equal to this
challenge. I am convinced we are able.
Europe's history if nothing else proves that we are a
resilient continent, able to unite in face of that which seeks to divide us.
