European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson confirmed that hundreds of unaccompanied children from the Greek islands, including Lesbos, will be relocated to other European Union member states. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/special-debates/migration/relocation-or-return-sponsorship-eu-shares-migration-responsibility/ #SOTEU #SOTEU20 #eudebates #Migration #Migrants #Asylum #refugees #Asylum #integration #Relocation "We already have started, as you know, the relocation of unaccompanied minors to other member states and now we will step up on this and continue this coordination and relocation of unaccompanied minors," said the politician in Brussels. She continued by stressing that a new centre for thousands of people left homeless in the Moria camp fire is "a priority," but "there can be no more Morias." Johansson added, "We need a fresh start on migration and this is the right moment." The Moria migrant camp was the largest in Europe, exceeding almost four times its maximum capacity of 3,100 people, hosting around 13,000 migrants living in poor sanitary conditions. The Greek authorities built a new 3,000 capacity camp over the weekend to house some of the migrants left without any shelter in the aftermath of the fires. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/special-debates/future-of-europe/state-of-the-union-2020-shaping-future-in-covid19-pandemic/ #SOTEU #SOTEU20 #eudebates #Migration #Migrants #Asylum #refugees #Asylum #integration #Relocation # European Commission announced a new Migration Pact promising a “fresh start” to live up to European values while addressing the challenges facing migrants and refugees. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is saying loud and clear to European leaders that a fresh start on migration can only begin with radical change. No more containment camps at Europe’s borders. No more violence by security forces. No more abandoning people at sea. No more deals to send people fleeing violence back to unsafe countries. The announcement of the new migration pact comes soon after fires destroyed Greece’s Moria refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in Europe. The fires displaced thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers from an overcrowded and dangerous camp, making them homeless once again. MSF has repeatedly warned of the dangers in Moria camp, as almost five years of trapping people in these conditions can only lead to despair and tensions. We have been calling for these people to be evacuated to a safe place on the mainland or to other European countries. Instead, a new camp is under construction. Fire Moria Camp: Call for urgent evacuation and radical change Together we are calling on European leaders to act now. The fire in Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos was a disaster waiting to happen. The biggest refugee camp in Europe has gone up in flames, leaving over 12,000 people without shelter, amidst the global pandemic. The European migration policies that trap people in inhumane conditions across the Greek islands must end. Moria camp was more than an overcrowded and unsafe camp. It had become a symbol of how Europe treats people on the move. For years, we have witnessed the harmful impact of European policies on people’s lives: appalling conditions in camps on the islands, numerous deaths at sea, violence and pushbacks at the borders of Europe. The European Union is at a critical turning point, soon presenting a ‘fresh start’ on migration (in the form of a new Migration and Asylum Pact). The whole world witnessed the fire at Moria: European leaders and the European Commission must realise that enough is enough. Those who have the power to make decisions in the next days, weeks and months have a historic responsibility. Join us in calling on European leaders and the European Commission to: Immediately evacuate all people who had to flee Moria camp. Basic human rights to shelter, food, sanitation facilities and healthcare cannot be upheld on Lesvos or the other Greek islands. Urgently decongest the islands and focus on relocation across Europe. Abandon any future approach to migration that would again trap people in inhumane conditions in camps on islands (or facilities at borders), awaiting a decision on their asylum claim. The policy of restricting asylum seekers’ movement from the islands to mainland Greece has to end. Implement migration policies that ensure protection, as opposed to exclusion. This requires increased solidarity and responsibility sharing between European countries, and an end to systematic human rights abuses at the borders. https://www.eudebates.tv/ #eudebates

• published: 24 Sep 2020
• views: 910