China News Service, June 9th, according to the European Union quoted the European Union News Agency, a few days ago, the European Intelligence Service said that about 20,000 refugees were preparing to travel from North Africa to Europe. In response to the refugee wave, the five countries of Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus Mediterranean jointly sent a letter to the European Union, calling on the EU to quickly coordinate member states to properly solve the problem of refugee allocation and resettlement, and formulate a unified refugee policy and establish a coordination mechanism.
Data map: Refugees traveling to Europe.
According to reports, on the 5th local time, at the video conference of the Ministers of the Interior of the member countries chaired by the European Civil Affairs Commissioner Ilf, the Italian Minister of the Interior Lamorzes and the Ministers of the Interior of Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus called on the EU Under the coordination of the committee, the refugees will be reasonably distributed to all member states and countries participating in the search and rescue of refugees.
It is reported that this is the first time that the five Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus have taken joint action on the refugee issue and jointly proposed to the European Commission a policy programme for the settlement of refugees. The proposal requires the EU to immediately coordinate and formulate a unified strategic policy on refugee resettlement and asylum issues in the context of the new crown epidemic. The Minister of the Interior of the Mediterranean 5 stated that this is an important step in resolving the EU's external marine borders and refugee migration procedures.
In a letter to the European Commission, the five Mediterranean countries stated that member states should consult on the strategic definition of new immigrants and refugees, recognize the particularity of the EU’s maritime border management, establish a unified EU refugee coordination and resettlement mechanism, and develop a European common repatriation system , Determine the rescue organization's maritime rescue guidelines.
The letter emphasized that the framework of the new refugee policy should overcome the Dublin Standard’s standard of liability for first-entry countries, adopt a compulsory and automatic mechanism to redistribute asylum refugees to protect refugee rights and prevent abuse of asylum systems, and stipulate that refugees should first land in the country in advance Review the necessary hygiene and safety procedures. Strengthen cooperation policies with third countries, especially those in North Africa and the Middle East.
The letter pointed out that the refugees landed in the countries involved in the rescue operation and could not be regarded as other irregular entry. It should be classified as the result of the rescue country fulfilling its international maritime law obligations, rather than the result of inefficient border control.
The letter suggested that the EU should establish a mechanism for fulfilling its obligations under international maritime law and a coordinated distribution of refugees, including the redistribution of refugees arriving in search and rescue countries as a result of search and rescue operations. In the context of the new crown epidemic, the refugee landing country should ensure that necessary health and safety inspections are carried out.
The European Intelligence Service said that about 20,000 refugees are currently preparing to enter the North Mediterranean coast from the North African coast. Once the EU opens its external border, the Libyan refugee fleet is likely to recover quickly.
According to a notice from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, as of June 7, 5,461 refugees had landed in Italy, including many Tunisians. There were 1,878 refugees landing in Italy during the same period in 2019. (Boyuan)