The EU emergency summit on the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean Sea failed to agree on the one most essential action: search and rescue in international waters, said the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
“It is good that EU leaders are waking up to the human disaster that is happening in the Mediterranean,” said Luca Visentini, ETUC Confederal Secretary. “The summit took some constructive decisions, but not the most urgent one, which is to relaunch search-and-rescue operations in international waters. Without search and rescue the EU is leaving desperate people to drown.”
The ETUC welcomes the EU summit decisions to:
- increase the Frontex budget;
- share responsibility for the resettlement of asylum-seekers across member states;
- take action to fight criminal organisations responsible for human trafficking.
The ETUC notes that the mandate of Frontex, and the scope of the Triton and Poseidon operations, have not changed – meaning that the EU will focus on protecting its borders.
“This is not a matter of border control,” said Visentini. “It is a matter of basic human decency, saving people’s lives.”
The ETUC calls for
1.The immediate restoration of search-and-rescue operations;
2.The setting up of reception centres in Italy, Malta and Greece, with the support of EASO, to offer suitable reception conditions and to redirect asylum requests to other countries;
3.Increased efforts to ensure suitable living conditions and integration for asylum-seekers and refugees.
