EU migrant and refugee crisis

With its action plan on inclusion and integration, the Commission has opened up an important opportunity for Europe to promoting inclusive and cohesive societies, where everyone has a stake, said Oxfam today. It’s now up to EU governments to set this plan into action, for the benefit of us all.

The European Commission has recently proposed in its new Pact for Migration and Asylum that each member state will have to establish screening centres to monitor human rights violations. But this proposal is not enough, and four steps are needed to make it effective in achieving its aim to stop human rights violations at the border.

The new temporary camp on the Greek island of Lesbos is even worse than the original Moria camp, with inadequate shelter, hardly any running water, limited healthcare services, and no access to legal aid, said the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Oxfam in their latest ‘Lesbos Bulletin’ news update.

The new Commission proposals on migration and asylum will likely replicate the abhorrent situation we have been witnessing for years in the Greek EU refugee ‘hotspots’, said Oxfam today.

The European Commission should trigger an infringement procedure against Greece for its systematic breach of EU law in its treatment of people seeking asylum in Europe, a coalition of human rights groups said in a legal complaint filed today, just a day before the Commission will release a new European pact on asylum and migration.

The fire in the infamous Moria refugee camp was a fully preventable tragedy and should trigger a U-turn in the EU’s and Greece’ response to the arrival of people seeking asylum in Europe, said Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees.

The first case of the new coronavirus in Greece’s biggest refugee camp highlights the need for immediate and radical changes from the Greek government and its EU partners to the reception of people seeking asylum in Europe.

The new Greek asylum law that entered into force on 1 January 2020 has significantly diminished protection for people seeking asylum. The law and its amendments increase asylum seekers’ vulnerabilities, while limiting access to their fundamental right to seek asylum and be protected from serious risks.

In response to the proposals from the Greek government to install floating barriers in the sea to deter migrants and refugees, Evelien van Roemburg, Oxfam's Europe Migration Campaign manager, said:

"This is an extremely worrying development that would be a violation of the basic human right for people to seek protection and put even more lives at risk.

"People would be forced to make more dangerous crossings through deep and treacherous waters.