“This comes from the total of over 266 million earmarked for France and over 370 million earmarked for the UK for the period covering 2014-20,” he said in a statement.
The EC migration chief detailed measures that Brussels could contribute to help London and Paris cope with the concentration of undocumented migrants in northern France attempting to cross the English Channel into the UK.
“For instance, the European Asylum Support Office is able to help with the processing of asylum applications,” Avramopoulos stressed.
- Another measure, he added, would allow the European Borders Agency Frontex help identify and register migrants, as well as return them in collaboration with their countries of origin.
Linking the crisis in Calais to conflicts outside Europe, Avramopoulos said the European Union “must act in a united way to address a challenge that surpasses national boundaries.”
The International Organization for Migration appealed to the 28-member bloc earlier for a wider humanitarian response to the crisis.
An estimated 3,500 to 5,000 migrants are currently reported to be encamped in the northern French port of Calais. The vast majority of them have fled conflict-torn homes mostly in North African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to gain asylum in the UK.
At least 10 deaths have been reported since June among the thousands of migrants attempting to board Channel Tunnel trains into Britain.
(Sputnik)
5/8/15
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Related:
[1] European Commission - Statement
- Statement from Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos
Brussels, 04 August 2015
Today I held constructive and friendly bilateral exchanges with
both French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and with UK Home
Secretary Theresa May, who updated me on the situation in Calais and the
measures they are taking to address it.
Above all, I would like to welcome the strong cooperation between both countries on this issue.
I outlined the support the Commission is able to offer – for instance, the European Asylum Support Office is able to help with the processing of asylum applications and the European Borders Agency, Frontex, can help identify and register migrants, collaborate with countries of origin and transit to speed up the issuing of travel documents for return, and coordinate and finance joint return operations.
I also confirmed that the Commission will now disburse the first instalment of €20 million in national funding under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for France. The Commission has already granted the UK a pre-financing of about €27 million. This comes from the total of over €266 million earmarked for France and over €370 million earmarked for the UK for the period covering 2014-20.
At this stage, neither France nor the UK have requested additional assistance and I have full trust in their ability to manage the situation.
More generally, the situation in Calais is another stark example of the need for a greater level of solidarity and responsibility in the way we deal with migratory pressures in Europe; it is one piece of a bigger puzzle that requires a broad set of responses.
We are facing a migratory crisis of extraordinary proportions that is very much linked to the conflicts occurring in the wider periphery of Europe.
That is why we all need to do more. We must act in a united way to address a challenge that surpasses national boundaries.
Greater effort also need to be made to cooperate with third countries of origin and transit, particularly on returns and readmission agreements – an area where working collectively at EU level is crucial. I expect concrete results from the summit with African countries that will take place in Valetta on 11-12 November.
What we need is a European response on managing migration better, addressing all parts of the chain – from the immediate need to save lives to working on root causes with partner countries, fighting against traffickers and making returns more effective, as well as a long term strategy on strengthening our asylum system and borders. This is what the Commission set out in the Migration Agenda adopted in May, which is starting to be implemented.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-15-5472_en.htm?locale=en
4/8/15
Above all, I would like to welcome the strong cooperation between both countries on this issue.
I outlined the support the Commission is able to offer – for instance, the European Asylum Support Office is able to help with the processing of asylum applications and the European Borders Agency, Frontex, can help identify and register migrants, collaborate with countries of origin and transit to speed up the issuing of travel documents for return, and coordinate and finance joint return operations.
I also confirmed that the Commission will now disburse the first instalment of €20 million in national funding under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for France. The Commission has already granted the UK a pre-financing of about €27 million. This comes from the total of over €266 million earmarked for France and over €370 million earmarked for the UK for the period covering 2014-20.
At this stage, neither France nor the UK have requested additional assistance and I have full trust in their ability to manage the situation.
More generally, the situation in Calais is another stark example of the need for a greater level of solidarity and responsibility in the way we deal with migratory pressures in Europe; it is one piece of a bigger puzzle that requires a broad set of responses.
We are facing a migratory crisis of extraordinary proportions that is very much linked to the conflicts occurring in the wider periphery of Europe.
That is why we all need to do more. We must act in a united way to address a challenge that surpasses national boundaries.
Greater effort also need to be made to cooperate with third countries of origin and transit, particularly on returns and readmission agreements – an area where working collectively at EU level is crucial. I expect concrete results from the summit with African countries that will take place in Valetta on 11-12 November.
What we need is a European response on managing migration better, addressing all parts of the chain – from the immediate need to save lives to working on root causes with partner countries, fighting against traffickers and making returns more effective, as well as a long term strategy on strengthening our asylum system and borders. This is what the Commission set out in the Migration Agenda adopted in May, which is starting to be implemented.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-15-5472_en.htm?locale=en
4/8/15
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EU
EU offers to help France, Britain tackle Calais migrant crisis...
ReplyDeleteThe European Commission offered Tuesday to help France and Britain deal with the migrant crisis at the Channel Tunnel, as police on both sides braced for new attempts at the crossing.
The EC said in a statement that it would send a first instalment of financial assistance to France of 20 million euros ($22 million), less than a day after some 600 fresh attempts were made to penetrate the tunnel, according to a police source.
The situation in the northern French port of Calais has hit the headlines in the past week, with people desperate to reach Britain making attempt after attempt to breach Eurotunnel defences, some paying for it with their lives.
Last week, a Sudanese man in his 30s died, apparently crushed to death by a lorry, and at least 10 people have been killed since June trying to get to Britain where many already have family and work is perceived as easier to find.
The EC's Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said the first instalment of a special grant would now be sent to help Paris deal with its side of the crisis.
Britain has already received 27 million euros.
"This comes from the total of over 266 million euros earmarked for France and over 370 million euros earmarked for the UK for the period covering 2014-20," Avramopoulos said in a statement.
“At this stage, neither France nor the UK have requested additional assistance and I have full trust in their ability to manage the situation,” he added...................http://www.france24.com/en/20150805-eu-offers-help-france-britain-face-calais-migrant-crisis
5/8/15
Migrants from Africa threaten the European Union's living standards and its social structure, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Sunday, saying the bloc was unable to take in millions of people seeking a new life...
ReplyDeleteHammond, speaking while visiting Singapore, was talking about efforts by people fleeing instability in the Middle East and Africa to resettle inside the EU, some of whom try to reach Britain via the Channel Tunnel from France.
"We have got to be able to resolve this problem ultimately by being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back to their countries of origin," Hammond told BBC TV.
But EU laws meant migrants were "pretty confident" they would never be returned to their country of origin, he said.
"That is not a sustainable situation because Europe can't protect itself and preserve its standard of living and social structure, if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa," said Hammond.
Reuters
L'UE débloque 2,4 milliards d'euros pour faire face à la crise des migrants...
ReplyDeleteL'Union européenne a approuvé lundi le déblocage de 2,4 milliards d'euros sur six ans, pour aider les pays qui font face à l'arrivée croissante de migrants sur leurs territoires. En tête de liste, la Grèce et l'Italie.
L'Europe veut venir en aide aux migrants. La Commission européenne a approuvé, lundi 10 août, le déblocage d'une aide de 2,4 milliards d'euros sur six ans pour aider les pays, dont la Grèce et l'Italie, qui font face à l'arrivée croissante de migrants sur leurs territoires.
L'Italie recevra le soutien le plus important, avec près de 560 millions d'euros, tandis que la Grèce bénéficiera d'une aide de 473 millions d'euros.............http://www.france24.com/fr/20150810-ue-debloque-24-milliards-euros-crise-migrants-europe-italie-grece-france-immigration
19/8/15