Speaking to the European Parliament, Nicolas Schmit stresses the efforts by the Presidency and the Council to respond to the refugee crisis
Nicolas Schmit, the minister responsible for relations with the European Parliament during the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council, stressed the efforts by the Presidency and the Council to respond to the challenges of the refugee crisis, during a debate on the humanitarian situation of refugees at a plenary session of the European Parliament, held on 6 October 2015 in Strasbourg.
Nicolas Schmit set out the various actions being taken at European level. These included the funding of humanitarian organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in order to "better respond to the needs of refugees close to their place of origin", and the strengthening of the main "trust funds", such as the Emergency Fund for Africa. Against this background, the Minister stressed the Presidency's commitment to mobilising financial resources in order to double the contribution from the EU's budget, to an additional billion euros, as agreed by the Heads of State and Government at an extraordinary European Council meeting held on 23 September 2015.
This summit took place the day after an extraordinary "Justice and Home Affairs" (JHA) Council meeting called by the Presidency, held on 22 September. At that meeting, the European Ministers for Home Affairs and Immigration adopted, by a qualified majority, the temporary mechanism for the emergency relocation from Italy and Greece of 120 000 persons in need of international protection. Previously, at the Extraordinary JHA Council of 14 September, the ministers had agreed on the emergency relocation of 40 000 people. "All these efforts have made it possible, and must make it possible, to achieve sizeable and significant results as quickly as possible", said Nicolas Schmit. He also expressed his satisfaction at the fact that "the first hotspots are already operational" and that others "will be soon".
Nicolas Schmit welcomed the fact that Germany, as President of the G7 i, had just organised an "Outreach event", on 29 September 2015, on the fringe of the ministerial week of the United Nations General Assembly. This made it possible to secure additional commitments of approximately EUR 1.8 billion. The Minister also explained that the Presidency is committed to supporting the European Commission's proposals regarding adjustments to the budget.
Nicolas Schmit again welcomed "the excellent level of cooperation achieved with the Parliament in looking at these decisions, and the way the Parliament acted proactively".
The Minister said he had organised an exchange of views at the working lunch for employment ministers at the EPSCO Council (Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs i Council configuration) held on 5 October 2015 in Luxembourg, on support by the EU and the European Commission for the States receiving the largest number of refugees in order to "facilitate integration, access to the employment market, to support language lessons, the evaluation of their professional qualifications and the education of the children". Nicolas Schmit said that Marianne Thyssen i, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, had set out some thoughts to the ministers on the use of funds, mainly from the European Social Fund, for interventions in this sphere. "The Presidency plans to pursue discussions on this point within the framework of EPSCO", he added.
Nicolas Schmit went on to stress the importance of the Valletta Summit, to be held in Malta on 11 and 12 November 2015, with particular reference to the underlying causes of migration, refugee protection issues, combating traffickers and cooperation regarding return and readmission.
Following the very heated debate, with opposing views expressed, Nicolas Schmit considered that "this humanitarian crisis challenges the very values of our Union, values to which we are deeply attached". He called for "strong, effective and united action that can meet the challenge Europe faces". "Europe is capable of gaining control of this situation, provided that it stands united", he concluded.
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