EU goals include border defenses, aid for refugees

Juncker's State of the Union speech lists problem as a top priority

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday the European Union will offer better protection for refugees, but also will improve its frontier defenses and deport more illegal migrants.

In a written statement of priorities ahead of his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament, he told lawmakers and EU governments that he will offer "a swift, determined and comprehensive response to the refugee crisis".

Listing the problem first among his priorities - before the economy, Ukraine, climate change and a looming vote on Britain's membership in the bloc - Juncker said the crisis was caused by "war, terror and instability in our neighborhood".

He confirmed plans to ask member states to agree to an "emergency relocation mechanism" to spread asylum-seekers now crowding Italy, Greece and Hungary; a permanent mechanism for the same in future crises; and a common list of "safe countries of origins" whose citizens would be subject to fast-track deportations if they breached EU immigration laws.

Juncker, whose proposals face opposition among governments whose interior ministers will meet on Monday, also pledged to improve the management of the bloc's external frontiers, bolster its Frontex border agency and take "steps toward the creation of European coast guard and border guard systems".

He also proposed a "more effective approach to return", addressing complaints that too many people not entitled to asylum enter the European Union illegally and then remain there, often despite legal proceedings that conclude they should return home.

Juncker urged the strengthening of the EU's common asylum system and a scheduled review of the so-called Dublin system, among whose rules is that people must claim asylum only in the state where they first enter the EU, straining resources in front-line countries.

Germany has called for a flexible system to allocate migrants as the EU prepared to announce a quota plan on Wednesday, while Greek islands grapple with a huge backlog of people seeking to reach Western Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country expects 800,000 claims this year and has offered to take up to half a million refugees annually over several years, said the plan "was an important first step," but cautioned against rigid ceilings.

"We need an open system to share out those with a right to asylum," Merkel said after talks with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, whose country has also been more welcoming to migrants.

Answering criticism from refugee and migration agencies, Juncker said the EU would "develop safe legal avenues for those in need of protection". The goal is to reduce smuggling networks and the temptation to risk dangerous sea crossings as well as create a permanent plan to resettle refugees from other regions and offer better protection for refugees living in regions neighboring Europe.

He also renewed a proposal to review the system by which workers can apply to migrate to the EU, addressing concerns on an aging continent that it needs to attract new people.

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 09/10/2015 page11)