Future of Europe Conference: citizens welcome Pact on Migration to overcome Dublin System

The European citizens who met in Maastricht to discuss the issue of migration in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe call for “a system for labour migration that is based on the real needs of the European labour market” and the recognition of qualified migrants. It would be useful to have an immigration agency selecting migrants with relevant qualifications in their home countries. However, welcoming policies and facilities must be the same at each European border, respecting human rights. Then more power, independence and transparency are required for Frontex. It is also essential, however, to step up development assistance for the migrants’ countries of origin. At European level, working conditions should be harmonized to prevent internal labour migration. A collective migration policy must be based on the “principle of solidarity” with common procedures and minimum standards for the reception of asylum-seekers and refugees, and education efforts to raise awareness of migration and integration issues. The new Pact on Migration is a good start, but it should become EU law to finally overcome the Dublin System; the EU Asylum Agency should process applications and distribute people within EU Member States, based on fair and equal criteria and taking into account the needs. Uniform standards, support to reception countries, and centres for unaccompanied minors were also among the requests. Nevertheless, the proposal to expand the definition of asylum seekers to include people affected by climate change and the proposal on the definition of legal migration routes were both rejected.Valentina Bombelli