European Commission
Malmström

I’ve just had a meeting with Amnesty International and several human rights organisations from Israel. They wanted to discuss the severe situation for migrants in the Sinai Peninsula. It is an issue that I brought up with various ministers in Cairo when I was there to visit last year, but since then the situation has gotten worse. It’s about migrants and refugees, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who try to get through the Sinai desert in search of asylum in Israel. Most people fall prey to smugglers who run a particuarly obnoxious game in Sinai, charging migrants for letting them through and then holding them hostage and demanding a ransom from them or their families. It involves quite a lot of money and many of the refugees testify about horrific torture, rape and various forms of degrading treatment. Obviously this can not continue. Israel and Egypt must cooperate in cracking down on this disgusting business.

And even for the refugees who do not fall into the hands of these violent smugglers, the situation is very difficult. They have no opportunity to seek asylum in Egypt. Asylum policy as such does not exist and the only possibility is to seek shelter with the UNHCR. There are several cases where the military has fired on the refugees.

The possibility of a legally secure asylum management in Israel is also very scarce. Sudanese and Eritreans get a temporary permit to stay in Israel, however, without going through any form of asylum procedure first, and without getting the right to medical care or to work. The new law, the Anti-infiltration Law, which was passed in February this year, makes it possible for the Israeli authorities to immediately detain anyone who illegally enters Israeli territory, often indefinitely, and in many cases for life. In addition, Israel is now building a long fence along the border between Israel and Egypt. It is important that, despite this, there will be possibilities for people to seek asylum in the country.

For over a year now I’ve been trying to get the Egyptians interested in a Mobility Partnership where we discuss migration, asylum, visa issues, etc. in a broad sense. We are now very close to achieving such an Partnership with Tunisia. From Egypt’s side, it has so far been turned down. We’ll see what happens after the presidential elections in June.

2011-07-06 The Fundamental Rights Agency published a report yesterday on irregular migrants in domestic work. The report points to the fact that domestic work is barely regulated in the EU and to common forms of exploitation in the form of low salaries, long working hours and no possibility to obtain compensation for work-related accidents. The workers are also not likely to report or complain about their employer due to the risk of being sent back.

The findings are not really new to me, but it demonstrates a complicated situation that we must address. On the EU level, we have so far put forward the Employers Sanctions Directive, which means that employers need to make sure that the people they employ have the right permissions, and we have also put forward a proposal to ensure higher standards and conditions for seasonal workers. But more needs to be done. The report suggests an introduction of common standards for the domestic sector. We also have to facilitate labour migration. We are currently working on setting up an immigration portal, in order to provide people that would like to come to the EU with correct and useful information. The aim is to launch the immigration portal in autumn. More efforts on the national level to decrease the problem of an illegal, hidden labour market are also needed. This is an important challenge we face and that we must take seriously.

2011-04-29 I’ve enjoyed a few days off in Gothenburg, where spring was in full bloom. I have, of course, also been following the developments in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and taking note of the meeting between Sarkozy and Berlusconi where Schengen and migration from Northern Africa were discussed. The two Heads of State have also sent a letter to the Commission calling for special measures in relation to the latest developments with approx. 25.000 migrants arriving in the EU, in large part to Italy.

It’s important to prepare for what’s happening in Northern Africa and to have a long term strategy for the cooperation with our neighbouring countries. There’s however quite worrying tendencies in Member States to be too event-driven and calling for quick-fix measures. It’s important to remember that out of the approx. 25.000 migrants coming to the EU the last couple of months only a few thousands are refugees, seeking asylum in the EU. The others are economical migrants from Tunisia looking for work and a better life in Europe. These people are likely to be sent back to Tunisia. The few thousand refugees that have been coming the last months should also be seen in the right perspective – last year France alone recieved 48.000 asylum seekers and Sweden 32.000 – the total number of refugees coming to the EU last year was 236.000.

As I wrote in my previous blog entry, migration policy needs long term strategies and well thought through measures and mustn’t be driven by populist movements. Next week I’ll present a Strategy Paper presenting a holistic approach on migration to my colleagues in the Commission. The Strategy Paper addresses the urgent need for a common European asylum and migration policy and the need for solidarity with the European countries most exposed to migration flows (Italy and Malta at this point), but also with neighbouring countries, such as Tunisia and Egypt, where the lion part of the refugees from Libya have fled to.

We must also make it easier for people to come to Europe legally and at the same time continue to fight the criminal networks dealing with smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The Strategy paper also addresses border control and the need to strengthen the Schengen governance in order to build trust in effectiveness of EU system of migration management. This will all be discussed at the extra Justice and Home Affairs Council on 12th of May and at the EU summit in June.

A boat from Libya sank this morning in the Mediterranean with 265 people on board. So far only 48 have been rescued. The latest information we’ve received is that 20 bodies have now been found and that the search is ongoing.

It is awful that criminal networks exploit vulnerable people and make money on smuggling them to Europe. When I visited Tunisia last week, I was told that it costs 1500 Euros for a ticket to go on a small boat to Europe, with often more than 100 people on board and no life-vests. With a life-vest it’s even more expensive.

In order to minimise the risk of people drowning in the Mediterranean a long-term effort is needed, including close cooperation with the countries in the region. In the short term, the Frontex mission remains crucial in detecting boats and saving people from drowning. Europol has also deployed a special group of experts to Italy to help the law enforcement authorities to identify criminal networks that make a fortune on the exploitation of people in need.

At the same time, the right of people fleeing persecution or violent conflict to seek asylum must be guaranteed. People in such a situation should be given protection wherever they seek it, and I am very grateful to the authorities, international organisations and NGOs in Tunisia and Egypt who are making such great efforts to host the many refugees who have been fleeing Libya in recent weeks. I have also asked the EU’s Member States to make a gesture by agreeing to resettle some of them here in Europe. 

On a happier note, the European Parliament voted today with a small majority in favour of the Commission’s proposal to revise the Asylum Procedures Directive, so as to facilitate access to asylum in Europe. This is an important step. In June, I will be asking my colleagues in the College of Commissioners to adopt a further revised proposal which will take account of this vote and of the negotiations in the Council over the past year or so. And hopefully that will contribute to the momentum needed to complete the Common EU Asylum System we have all agreed to have in place by next year.

More boats are coming to the shores of Lampedusa. But now they are not only carrying Tunisian migrants, but also refugees from Libya – mainly Somalis and Eritreans who have lived in Libya for a long time and now have nowhere to go. Yesterday, 500 refugees from Libya reached Malta. I’m in daily contact with Italy to see how we can assist them. Last year Italy got a sum of money from the European Refugee Fund and the Return Fund, and all of it has not yet been used. That money can now be used to deal with the situation in Lampedusa, and we have also additional support if that would be needed.

The humanitarian situation in Lampedusa is difficult and Italy needs to move people more quickly to the mainland. From the Commission side we are now pleading also to other Member States to take their responsibility and support Malta and Italy in taking some of the refugees arriving.

Tomorrow I am going to Tunisia together with my colleague Stefan Füle. We will discuss the current refugee situation and I hope that we can also touch upon how we can organise future cooperation on mobility, migration, visa issues, and border management. I will go to the refugee camps close to Djerba and then to Tunis to meet with ministers, UNHCR, International Organisation for Migration, NGOs, and representatives of political parties.