EU parliament backs relocation plan

AFP, BRUSSELS: The European Parliament yesterday backed plans to relocate 120,000 refugees around the EU to help the frontline states of Greece, Hungary and Italy, in a move that raised pressure on ministers to adopt the proposals next week.
In an emergency vote called after EU interior ministers failed to back the scheme on Monday, lawmakers approved the plans by the European Commission—the EU’s executive—by 372 votes to 124 with 54 abstentions.
The ministers meet again Tuesday to discuss the plans with a possible summit of EU leaders also on the cards. Parliament had to approve the plans but would normally have done so after EU states had rubberstamped them.
“We are very grateful to the European Parliament for understanding the urgency of this matter,” European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said before the vote in Brussels.
Timmermans said the vote meant that both the Commission and parliament “can say to the Council that the moment to act is now”, referring to the European Council, the 28-nation bloc’s minister-level body.
“The speed with which the European Parliament is giving its opinion is obviously down to the extreme urgency,” a spokesman for the office of parliament head Martin Schulz told the news agency.
Fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, nearly 500,000 migrants have flooded into Europe and EU member states have until now only agreed to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece.
The Commission praised the parliament for resorting to an emergency procedure to vote in favour of the Brussels plan just a week after it was first unveiled.
“The path is now clear for the Council to adopt our proposal,” it said in a statement.
Hopes of a unanimous deal collapsed in the face of opposition from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania at the crisis meeting in Brussels, officials said.
Another reports from Berlin adds: The head of Germany’s Office for Migration and Refugees, Manfred Schmidt, has resigned amid a record influx of asylum-seekers, citing “personal reasons”, the interior ministry said Thursday.
The office had repeatedly come in for criticism amid a huge backlog in handling a record wave of asylum requests as Europe faces its biggest migration crisis since World War II.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere expressed regret at Schmidt’s decision, saying he had “done an excellent job” and praising his “extraordinary commitment” in the post he had held since 2010.
To support the office, the government has increased staffing by several hundred, with plans to further boost personnel by seconding customs service staff and asking retired workers back to duty.
Europe’s biggest economy has become the top destination for people fleeing wars and misery in Syria and elsewhere, and Berlin has effectively waived EU rules that compel migrants to seek asylum in the first member country they enter.
Germany may receive one million people seeking refugee status or political asylum this year, up from the 800,000 arrivals officially predicted so far, said Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Monday.
The office in August struggled with a backlog of some 270,000 asylum requests, national news agency DPA reported, adding that the system was clogged up with applications from citizens of Balkan countries who had only slim chances of being granted asylum.

 

EU parliament backs relocation plan

AFP, BRUSSELS: The European Parliament yesterday backed plans to relocate 120,000 refugees around the EU to help the frontline states of Greece, Hungary and Italy, in a move that raised pressure on ministers to adopt the proposals next week. In an emergency vote called after EU interior ministers failed to back the scheme on Monday, lawmakers approved the plans by the European Commissionthe EUs executiveby 372 votes to 124 with 54 abstentions. The ministers meet again Tuesday to discuss the plans with a possible summit of EU leaders also on the cards. Parliament had to approve the plans but would normally have done so after EU states had rubberstamped them. We are very grateful to the European Parliament for understanding the urgency of this matter, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said before the vote in Brussels. Timmermans said the vote meant that both the Commission and parliament can say to the Council that the moment to act is now, referring to the European Council, the 28-nation blocs minister-level body. The speed with which the European Parliament is giving its opinion is obviously down to the extreme urgency, a spokesman for the office of parliament head Martin Schulz told the news agency. Fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, nearly 500,000 migrants have flooded into Europe and EU member states have until now only agreed to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece. The Commission praised the parliament for resorting to an emergency procedure to vote in favour of the Brussels plan just a week after it was first unveiled. The path is now clear for the Council to adopt our proposal, it said in a statement. Hopes of a unanimous deal collapsed in the face of opposition from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania at the crisis meeting in Brussels, officials said. Another reports from Berlin adds: The head of Germanys Office for Migration and Refugees, Manfred Schmidt, has resigned amid a record influx of asylum-seekers, citing personal reasons, the interior ministry said Thursday. The office had repeatedly come in for criticism amid a huge backlog in handling a record wave of asylum requests as Europe faces its biggest migration crisis since World War II. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere expressed regret at Schmidts decision, saying he had done an excellent job and praising his extraordinary commitment in the post he had held since 2010. To support the office, the government has increased staffing by several hundred, with plans to further boost personnel by seconding customs service staff and asking retired workers back to duty. Europes biggest economy has become the top destination for people fleeing wars and misery in Syria and elsewhere, and Berlin has effectively waived EU rules that compel migrants to seek asylum in the first member country they enter. Germany may receive one million people seeking refugee status or political asylum this year, up from the 800,000 arrivals officially predicted so far, said Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Monday. The office in August struggled with a backlog of some 270,000 asylum requests, national news agency DPA reported, adding that the system was clogged up with applications from citizens of Balkan countries who had only slim chances of being granted asylum.