Bold expectations for next Commission's work on migration and asylum

Brussels, 17 July 2009 - Caritas Europa has assessed the outgoing Commission's achievements and failures in the area of migration and asylum. The organisation also reveals its expectations for the next Commission in this field. To Caritas Europa the greatest achievement of the outgoing Barroso's Commission, in the area of asylum and migration, was the return to a more "normal" political debate on EU labour migration policies, that is to say a political debate that is less focused on security concerns. On the other hand that same Commission fell short in prioritising migration policy issues. The three main areas of the "Global Approach to Migration" did not receive the balanced attention Caritas Europa would have liked to see. In particular, the fight against irregular migration was given a lot more attention compared to the management of legal migration. The Commission could have played a more decisive role by planning its work in a different way.  Next European Commission What regards the next European Commission, Caritas Europa lays out a series of bold expectations concerning migration and asylum.

Commission's meeting in the Berlaymont building Photo: Wordpress.com

The organisations would like to see increased efforts to further change the tone of the debate (from "security" to workers rights' protection), including the integration issue.

Another request is for the Commission to present a clear action plan to implement the Stockholm Programme on Justice, Freedom and Security to be adopted under the Swedish EU Presidency. Such an action plan should indicate clear policy initiatives, refer to the appropriate legal instruments (review and new), and specify a well-defined implementation calendar.

The organisation also underlines the importance of a close consultation with civil society organisations, and - as much as possible - a combination of efforts between the European Commission and civil society organisations in order to promote a fact-, evidence-, and rights-based debate in the European Parliament, and in the responsible Council working structures in view of further developments.  

In the area of asylum, the next Commission is invited to strongly defend the principle of access to fair and transparent asylum procedures.  

Finally, Caritas Europa hopes that the European Asylum Support Office will be instrumental in guaranteeing equal treatment of asylum seekers with higher common standards in all EU member states.

For more information, please contact:
Peter Verhaeghe
Migration Officer
Tel: +32 2 235 03 96
pverhaeghe@caritas-europa.org