Karamanou (PSE).
– (EL) Mr President, today's debate on asylum and immigration is
extremely topical, what with insecurity and fear about military operations in
the Middle East giving rise to mass movements of desperate people. Waves of
refugees have already reached the European Union, their first port of call
being Greece, which is the European Union's closest border with the Middle
East.
Ladies and gentlemen, Greek islands are
under pressure from an unprecedented influx of refugees and asylum seekers,
mainly from Afghanistan. Greece is having to shoulder a burden which is out of
proportion to what it can cope with, which is why the European Union urgently
needs to take its share of the responsibility, in this specific case by helping
Greece to draw up an integrated joint plan to protect the right of asylum and
ensure that the Geneva Convention is fully applied.
Obviously, the sacred right to asylum must
not, under any circumstances, be undermined by the measures needed to combat
international crime and terrorism. In any event, mass movements of people will
be dealt with under a fairer global policy to reduce inequalities and resolve
differences using peaceful means.