Debate: Screening of third country nationals at the external borders - European Criminal Records Information System  - Third Country Nationals - Common procedure for international protection in the Union - Establishing a return border procedure, and amending Regulation  / - Asylum and migration management - Addressing situations of crisis and force majeure - Establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation  No , for identifying an illegally staying third-country national or stateless person and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States' law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes  - Union Resettlement Framework - Standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection - Standards for the reception of applicants for international protection
Date: WEDNESDAY, 10 APRIL 2024
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

The package that we have agreed with Member States and with the political groups is a delicate, balanced outcome. I can hear from your passionate contributions in the debate today that not all of you are happy with the result. That’s okay. That’s a good thing, because these arguments clearly point out to a balanced outcome that leaves many people in agreement, but leaves other people in the fringes, disagreeing. This is what European democracy is all about. Actually, the thing we are about, which you are about to vote on today, is the only thing that we didn’t try on migration policy in this political cycle; we did all the rest but having a regulatory framework for migration. We did crisis management. We defended our Member States against the instrumentalisation of migration flows by authoritarian neighbours. We ran from incident to incident, crisis to crisis, ship to ship. We did everything but one: to have a policy.  And we are now nearing this moment. This is indeed a make-or-break moment. We are about to open the door to a new House, a packed House, which will be founded on the respect of fundamental rights and the dignity and the values we represent. Not a fortress Europe, but a well-guarded House with more secure external borders and clear rules on who is entitled to enter. A House that will provide shelter to those fleeing persecution, war and violence. A House where all asylum applications will be processed duly and fairly. A House that will also make sure that those who do not have legal rights to be under our protection should be returned to the countries of origin with speed and dignity. And these effective rules – clear, cohesive, holistic rules – will also help us make EU solidarity the new normal.  Honourable Members, we are now about to vote. You are about to vote. And this is a major moment for responsibility. This is a unique chance because, frankly, it is not enough for some of you to say that we don’t want porous borders and do nothing about it. It is not enough to others to say that we want to protect the sanctity of asylum at all costs, but voting down this package. And it is not enough to say that you want to improve the rights of refugees and migrants, but stand against the legal texts that are precisely meant to do that.  So this is the moment of truth. Perfection is always the enemy of progress. The pact that you have in front of you is not rebuilding the Parthenon. We never claimed to do so, but we are making a marked, tangible improvement after many years of failures. We today have a non-system for migration in Europe. This might be good for those who want to win votes from the fact that Europe cannot sort out our migration problems, but it is not good for the rest of us. It is not good for citizens. It was not good for Europe.  So a vote against the pact is a vote against the Europe of solutions. I personally felt privileged and honoured to be able to accompany this historic process from day one to today. We are now about to cross the Rubicon on migration and asylum policy. We are about to show to everybody that the EU can deliver on the issues that matter to our people most. Let that be the one, single and resounding message voters will need to take when they go to vote next June.