PN supports Commission proposals on refugee crisis
Member states must waste no time in adopting these proposals, PN says
The Nationalist Party welcomed the European Commission's legislative proposals aimed at tackling the crisis on EU territory.
The proposals were unveiled by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled during his first State of the Union address in the European Parliament this morning.
PN Shadow Minister Minister for European and Foreign Affairs Roberta Metsola said: "With a crisis of this magnitude, I appeal to Member States to adopt the legislative proposals put forward by the Commission today without delay. In 2015 alone, 2,643 people lost their lives looking for Europe. These figures are staggering and there is no time for political dithering. EU Prime Ministers must act now. Nothing is more urgent or more important."
Metsola is also the European People's Party (EPP) Group's chief negotiator on a joint resolution on migration to be adopted by the European Parliament.
She expressed satisfaction that the Commission was increasing the emergency relocation of refugees from 40,000 to 160,000, and that it was increasing aid to Hungary in addition to that already allocated to Greece and Italy.
"I think the scale of crisis is such that we have no other option but to react swiftly, with a sense of urgency. We need to move beyond immediate measures and quickly implement a binding, permanent fair system of distribution for all Member States,” she said.
PN Spokesperson for Migration Francis Zammit Dimech said it was important to bear in mind the suffering of millions of people who have been fleeing their countries, risking their lives in search of protection elsewhere.
“Now more than ever before, the diverse challenges posed by the refugee crisis require EU Member States to work together in a spirit of leadership, solidarity and unity,” he added.
