MEP Marlene Mizzi lead speaker on migration and refugee crises

MEP Marlene Mizzi was the lead speaker on the subject of migration and the refugee crisis.  She highlighted the challenges which the refugee crises is presenting to Europe as well as the measures which the EU is taking to address the situation. Mizzi explained that the way the EU is responding to the asylum seekers has to differ as people have different reasons to leave their countries.

"People who are escaping civil strife, persecution, and death should be treated differently from those migrating for economic reasons," she said.

She also highlighted the fact that different member states face different problems arising from the influx of migrants and their sensibilities have to be respected and that the countries facing the biggest challenges were the member states at the external borders.

Mizzi also participated in the discussion with the Chinese parliamentarians regarding the recent European Parliament vote against granting China market economy status, to which the Chinese delegation felt grossly dissatisfied and disappointed. The MEPs do not regard that China has yet reached market economic status as defined by European standards, yet the two sides agreed to keep discussions open as they both recognize that any reactions, such as trade wars, should be avoided as this would only damage both China and the EU.

"This mission has been extremely fruitful giving us closer insight into the economic, social and legal aspects of this remarkable nation. China is the world’s second-largest economy and the EU’s second-largest trading partner and it is important to ensure that bi-lateral trade relations are nurtured without jeopardizing EU jobs caused by dumping of surplus Chinese goods, into the EU,” Mizzi said.

Mizzi was part of an official European Parliament delegation participating in the 39th EU-China interparliamentary meeting in Beijing and Changdu. Mizzi is a member of the European Parliament delegation for relations with China, which plays a crucial role at the interparliamentary meetings aimed at improving the cooperation with the National People's Congress of China and the development of the EU-China relationship.