Today, the Commission adopted its latest progress report on the EU’s emergency relocation and resettlement schemes, assessing actions taken up to 13 May 2016. Overall, progress remains unsatisfactory since the Commission’s second report, despite signs of increased preparation for future action: few relocations have taken place since mid-April, though the pipeline of future relocations has been strengthened.
Progress has been made on resettlement as part of the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement, but must be accelerated to avoid migrants returning to irregular routes. Greater efforts on relocation are increasingly urgent in view of the humanitarian situation in Greece and the increase in arrivals to Italy.
Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “We cannot be satisfied with the results achieved so far. More has to be done, and swiftly. We need to quickly respond to the urgent humanitarian situation in Greece and prevent any deterioration of the situation in Italy. The planning we see for upcoming relocations must be delivered. I urge all Member States to get ready to move at last. In parallel, we need to increase resettlements, mostly from Turkey, but also from other countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. Our recent progress in breaking the smugglers’ business model is only sustainable if a safe legal channel also opens for asylum seekers. It is important to speed up the pace and deliver fully on the 1:1 mechanism as part of the EU-Turkey agreement.”
