AFET/DEVE exchange of views with Matthäus, Andreea & Linda from European Youth Event on migration

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• published: 14 Oct 2016
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EN - Exchange of views with young people of the European Youth Event (EYE) - Matthäus Fandrejewski, Andreea Gabriela Gavrila and Linda Slapakova - on migration: debate in the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Development - FULL ENGLISH version - 11.10.2016 - European Parliament, Brussels. EXTRACTS from the TRANSCRIPT - Linda McAvan (S&D;, UK), Committee on Development Chair: "I am very pleased to welcome our guests today. The second edition of the European Youth Event took place in Strasbourg in May, on May 20_21, and there were 7500 young people that got together to discuss ideas that are now being presented across the (European) Parliament in 10 different committees. (...)" [00:04:00] Matthäus Fandrejewski, Germany, Youth Representative, European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI): "My proposal would enable all diplomatic representations belonging to the EU Member States to receive and acknowledge asylum requests in order to provide first protection to applicants on humanitarian basis. This would give the opportunity to recognise asylum status for asylum seekers who are in a direct need of protection as we can see now in the Syrian population. This proposed service, of receiving requests at diplomatic missions could be shared between all Member States so that only one embassy provides it on the ground. I think this is an important change on the one hand, because we could provide protection to asylum seekers from the very onset, and on the other hand, failed requests will be communicated to the person in question and provide them with the knowledge that the request has been denied. (...)" [00:06:25] Andreea Gabriela Gavrila, Romania: "My proposal today is for the European Union to create safe zones, and functioning cities inside the countries of conflict, instead of the already existing refugee camps, in order to prove European Union and therefore combined power. In other words, the refugee camps should be transformed into safe cities with our support, the support of Europeans. These safe cities can further enter into partnerships with different EU cities on specific issues. (...)" [00:08:20] Linda McAvan, DEVE Chair on Andreea Gavrila's proposal, on Matthäus Fandrejewski's proposal and on Syria. [00:08:55] Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE, FR): "I fully agree with the first idea. Of course the European Union should have opened up offices to cope with asylum seekers. For example for Syrian refugees in Turkey, in Lebanon and in Jordan. And its true that it is quite surrealist that the only way to request asylum is to pay a human trafficker and risk your life and that of your wife and your children to get here illegally, when it could have been done in your own country. So I fully agree with what was proposed, and I would remind you as well that the Canadians have done this, they have accepted thousands of people in this way" [00:10:05] Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D;, IT): "The idea of using diplomatic missions has a series of requirements that don't seem to be there. We would have to strengthen our diplomatic outposts and I don't think that that's going to happen. And we would have to acknowledge that we would need Europe to take in more refugees. Canada is one country, Europe is more difficult, there is no solidarity here when it comes to redistribution of refugees. (...)" [00:12:25] Answers to MEPs by Matthäus Fandrejewski and Andreea Gavrila. [00:13:55] Remarks by DEVE Chair Linda Mc Avan to Matthäus Fandrejewski [00:14:35] Linda Slapakova, Romania: "I would like to propose the establishment a Euro-Mediterranean framework for action specifically designed to address the needs and concerns of young people abroad, and this in three regards: firstly, ensuring better access to education, vocational training and address the issue of youth unemployment. The lack of socio-economic opportunities is definitely one of the primary push factors of mass migration, and if not addressed with a long term perspective the situation of young people will not change and they will simply no have any other option but to leave their countries again and again (...)" [00:16:25] 2nd idea of Andreea Gabriela Gavrila, Romania, on EU Youth Peace Corp. [00:19:20] Elly Schlein (S&D;, IT), [00:21:15] Ana Gomes (S&D;, PT): "Of course this has to do as well with policies that really empower the young people and of course it has to be with opportunities, social opportunities, economic, jobs, because we can't go on thinking that we are going to deliver a good work in terms of prevention, if at the same time indeed we do not offer basic opportunities to young people and these opportunities come from jobs and so on. (...)" ... 00:24:55 © Frédérick Moulin 2016 - EU2016 - European Parliament - All rights reserved.