Debate: Violations of right to seek asylum and non-refoulement in the EU Member States
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

The European Union received over half a million asylum applications last year. Around 200 000 persons have been granted protection. We can be proud that Europe upheld these principles during the Arab Spring, the Syrian refugee crisis, and again throughout the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Moreover, since 2015, EU resettlement programmes have provided safe and legal pathways to more than 95 000 vulnerable refugees. Member States collectively pledged to resettle or admit on humanitarian grounds 65 000 persons, notably Afghans, at risk in 2021 and 2022. This shows the Union’s commitment to continue implementing policies fully grounded in European values and international law, and continues to do so. The outstanding solidarity showed towards the more than 4 million refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine proves our commitment to uphold our duties towards those in need of asylum.  This being said, I am not here to paint an idyllic picture or deny reality. The situation in Europe is, of course, not perfect. Any violation of the right to asylum is unacceptable. Five months ago, you held a plenary debate about allegations of violent pushbacks at our EU borders. Since then, there are new reports of violations of the right to asylum. In February, the UNHCR recorded almost 540 incidents of reported informal returns by Greece since the beginning of 2020. The UNHCR, as well as many NGOs, express concern about alleged pushbacks at the border between Poland and Belarus to which access is prevented, and allegations of fundamental rights violations at the Lithuania-Belarus border have been filed with the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer. The fact that disciplinary procedures are undertaken in Croatia for involvement in pushbacks is important. But, regretfully, reports of alleged pushbacks at the Croatian border continue. Like many of you, the Commission is deeply concerned about these persistent reports. We must protect our EU external borders while upholding fundamental rights and the right to asylum. Member States have the direct responsibility to ensure that this balance is respected. We welcome that national independent bodies are conducting investigations and I call on all Member States to be transparent and proactive. In Greece, the National Transparency Authority has been tasked with conducting investigations. One of them has recently been completed. In Croatia, the independent monitoring mechanism issued an interim report in December 2021 on the monitoring visits conducted over the previous six months. The final report is expected in June of this year.  The Commission will analyse each final report and assess the efficiency of the authorities carrying out the investigations. The Commission takes allegations of violations of the right to asylum very seriously. The Commission is advocating for the establishment of independent and credible monitoring mechanisms in each Member State, as we proposed as part of the future screening procedure. When solid evidence indicates a systematic breach of EU law, the Commission will consider taking the necessary formal procedural steps. Finally, we believe in a strong and credible European Border and Coast Guard Agency that plays a crucial role in supporting the Member States in the effective but human control of EU external borders. This is why the Commission has been working together with the management board of the agency to strengthen the governance of the agency. In particular, we monitor the implementation of the action plan adopted by the management board of Frontex to follow up on the recommendations made in the 2021 reports of the Frontex Scrutiny Working Group and the EU Ombudsperson. Although there is still work to accomplish, progress has been made. The board appointed a new Fundamental Rights Officer in June 2021 and a Deputy Fundamental Rights Officer in January of this year. 20 out of 40 Fundamental Rights Monitors have been in function since mid—2021, and all 40 Fundamental Rights Monitors are expected to be recruited by this summer. The serious incidents reporting mechanism, as well as the Agency’s complaint mechanism, are more effective and improved by strengthening the role of the Fundamental Rights Officer. The Commission is fully mobilised to ensure that the right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement are fully respected and safeguarded. To this end, I thank the European Parliament for playing a key role in scrutinising and keeping this important topic on top of the agenda. We will continue to work with you to establish the facts, ensure transparency and protect the right to asylum.