Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-19-Speech-4-575-000"
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"en.20120419.23.4-575-000"2
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"Madam President, without doubt, prevention is better than cure. I absolutely agree with what the Commissioner said about the individual rights that should be enjoyed by asylum seekers. What he did not highlight and clarify to the House is the huge number of people who enter Greece as illegal immigrants.
As you will understand, when Turkey liberalised visas for all countries in the area and in the Mediterranean, so that a person from Tripoli in Libya can enter Istanbul for EUR 50 and then travel by road to the Greek border, things changed. Those who enter at that point – brought there by various human traffickers – are people about whom we know nothing; we do not know their origin or what language they speak, they have no papers and, of course, they all apply for asylum. So when 300 or 500 people cross the border every day, it is extremely difficult to manage such a large number of people.
That is why I agree with Commissioner Malmström that we need distinctions in Dublin II and I particularly welcome that you too have realised this and want to strengthen it. As you will understand, with Greece bearing 90% of the burden of illegal immigration, things are becoming difficult.
At the moment, the decision has been taken to have a large number of centres in which immigrants will be kept under humane conditions and efforts will be made to return them. However, there is only one solution to the problem, Commissioner: Turkey must be forced to apply its refoulement agreement with the European Union and must be forced to apply the agreement it signed with Greece in 1999. I do not think that we can have candidate countries opting to recognise or not to recognise their agreements with Europe by their own yardsticks. Turkey must be forced to prevent this massive pressure. For the rest, no one in Greece wants to deprive these people of their human rights. We participate fully in the Union and in the perceptions and values that we defend and we shall continue, Commissioner, to support and defend them, but we need real support from the Union, the Council, Parliament and from you, who are going about this in the right way."@en1
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