(My intervention on the report called: The need to reform European migration policies – Council of Europe)

First, let us be honest: the problem is not European migration policy. The European Council has proposed policies to address the refugee problem, but national governments have blocked them. We have the tools – relocation, resettlement, border control and so on – but on a national level not all of us support them. We are not facing a refugee crisis; we are facing a solidarity crisis, especially in the European Union. Let us not blame Brussels for this. Let us blame our own national governments for not being up to the challenge we face.

Secondly – Mr Schwabe has already mentioned this – paragraph 9.1.1 of the draft resolution is formulated very carefully, but it questions the Geneva Convention on refugees. I ask members to support Amendment 9 to delete this paragraph, because we do not want to give the impression that we are questioning this important Convention. Just imagine the signal we would send out if the Council of Europe – the home of human rights, as we like to call it – was questioning the Geneva Convention on refugees. Who would take us seriously in the future?

Thirdly, let us give up the crazy idea that we could rent a space in the desert or an island in the Mediterranean where we could dump all asylum seekers and, by doing so, get rid of all our problems.

That will not work and will not help us in any way.

Last but not least, I ask members to support the all the amendments tabled by our dear colleague, Ms Petra De Sutter. The amendments will make this draft resolution much better and more balanced. If they are rejected, I urge you to consider rejecting the whole resolution!