Migration and the centrality of human beings

"EU is not a fortress: we have the moral duty to help"

The FOEDUS Foundation opens office in Belarus.

Here are some bullet points of President Franco Frattini lecture at the opening ceremony.

Franco Frattini surante la lectio

Migration is not a critical issue. It’s one of the main geostrategic factors that are changing today’s world. It’s an issue concerning human beings, millions of children, women and men. As Pope Francis says, these people are victims, and we all have the moral duty to help.

European Union has extremely long borders. Southern Mediterranean borders and Eastern land ones have different characteristics but something in common as well: difficulty of controlling them, because of their porosity, often lack of serious check because of corruption of border officials, growing and more attracting business for the criminals organizing trafficking or smuggling of human beings. 

No single State can deal with this global issue.

Some other elements have to be considered: the root cause, like poverty, social exclusion, instability, failing and failed States; and some peaks of emergency situations like refugees from Syria, eradication and deportation of Christians from many regions in middle East, the risk of terrorists infiltration.

EU common migratory policy should be a priority of the new Commission. The new Commissioner for immigration deserves an important role (when I was Commissioner for freedom, justice and security, my portfolio was much bigger). 

Franco Frattini durante un'intervista, accompagnato dall'Ambasciatore d'Italia a Minsk Stefano Bianchi

Some bullet ideas on EU migration policy: what to do.

• Helping States of origin with tools such as growth, jobs, microcredit, encouragement.
• Promoting global job opportunities (seasonal highly-skilled jobs versus unskilled ones), and punishing those who exploit workers in black market.
• Cooperation with origin and transit countries: to make people aware of the consequences of illegal entry in EU, and to better and strongly detect smugglers and traffickers.
• Working for EU integrated borders security (this is and should be Frontex role).
• Involving neighbours.
• Hope for an EU border guard.
• Implementing in full use of biometric passports and VISA.
• Working on a centralized EU entry-exit database, also to prevent overstayers.
• Strengthen the aim of Schengen: freedom of movement for bona fide travellers, while detecting illegal entry and criminal activities.
• Integration of legal migrants, intercultural religious dialogue and respect of laws.
• Visa policy: powerful political instrument; facilitation and visa free regimes.
• Never a policy of isolation can succeed. EU should encourage “people to people” contacts: think to the care of Chernobyl children and Italian open policy during my mandate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many of them have been in Italy, some others learned Italian. 
• Tough hand with traffickers in human beings: it’s a crime against humanity.

Franco Frattini durante la lectio

How to react: five steps.

1. Addressing root causes: local growth, harmonize rules and policies in order to make impossible to choose the most permissive regulatory environment. 
2. Stemming corruption which is strictly connect to the illegal migration and trafficking (market of VISA, corruption of border officials, …).
3. Cutting the profits of smugglers and traffickers.
4. Offering a EU legal workers market for migrants.
5. Punishing those who exploit victims, including clients aware that prostitutes comes for trafficking, and so reduced to slavery.

Pubblicato da Franco Frattini il giorno 15.9.14. per la sezione Diritti e Libertà, Europa, Mondo, SIOI, UE, Ultimi post . Puoi essere aggiornato sui post, i commenti degli utenti e le risposte utilizzando il servizio di RSS 2.0. Scrivi un commento e partecipa anche tu alla discussione su questo tema.