Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament

 Enough with this migration system that puts the burden on border states. Enough of a system that treats refugees as criminals and denies them their most fundamental rights. For years now we’ve been working to overhaul the so-called “Dublin regulation” to replace it with a truly European migration and asylum system; one that opens safe and legal routes to Europe, while fostering solidarity and sharing responsibilities between all EU states. Today, we made a step in the right direction. The Civil Liberties parliamentary committee backed our proposals for a radical reform of Europe’s asylum policy, finally removing the principle of “first country of entry” which left countries like Italy and Greece alone in dealing with the crisis.

Of course we still have a long road ahead of us. We urge member states to follow suit and back our proposals without further delay. A truly European asylum system is the only sustainable option. And we won’t compromise on that.

Full reaction: http://socsde.ms/Z5A