Refugee Crisis and its Ramifications for Global and National Security Keynote address by Jean-François Cautain, EU Ambassador Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you to the Government of Pakistan, SASSI, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung to have taken the initiative of this conference on Refugee Crisis and its Ramifications for Global and National Security. As already mentioned by my colleague Ina, the Ambassador of Germany, there is an estimate of 60 million displaced people worldwide today. But it is also important to note that 86% of the world's refugees live in developing regions with 25% in LDC. Pakistan knows it well as the country has been hosting millions of refugees for almost the last four decades. A long standing and commendable commitment. No doubt that the scale of the refugee and migration crisis we have been facing in the European Union for the last 18 months has caught us off guard. The crisis has exposed our structural weaknesses in how the EU, as a group of 28 countries, manages migration. It has highlighted the deficiencies of our current structures and has accentuated the need for common actions to strengthen them. 1
It has forced us to temporally review the freedom of movement in the Schengen area, reinstating some border controls. It has challenged the European solidarity with several countries not properly implementing decisions aiming at distributing fairly the burden of the crisis among EU countries. It has strengthened the voice of extremists and populist movements reminding us of the dark pages of European history. It has also blurred the line between people in needs of real protection with people looking for economic opportunities. Both categories putting their lives at risk by paying and trusting smugglers who have taken advantages of both their precarious situation and our lack of coordinated responses. Since the beginning of this migration crisis in Europe, we have been working in developing a comprehensive strategy: The European Agenda on Migration adopted on 13 May 2015. Allow me to elaborate some aspects of this agenda. First to deal with this crisis situation, the EU needs to stick to its common values of pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, and solidarity. And of course, to fully respect its international engagements especially as regards to refugees. Second we have had to deal with the urgency of the situation. Thousands of people lost their lives trying to reach the shore of the EU in 2015, an unacceptable situation. Therefore we are focusing on: - saving lives especially by ensuring the safe passage of people in need of protection. : For example, search and rescue efforts have been stepped up with maritime operations such as Triton and Poseidon in the Mediterranean Sea as well as with operation EUNAVFOR aiming at disrupting the smugglers' business model. 2
- fighting criminal smuggling networks: It is done by Europol by pooling and better using information to identify and target smugglers in partnership with countries of origin and transit. - responding to high-volumes of arrivals within the EU. The relocation approach is aiming at a temporary distribution scheme for persons in clear need of international protection to ensure a fair and balanced participation of all EU Member States to this common effort. - helping frontline EU Member States in dealing with the challenges they face with large number of migrant arrivals. It is done by setting up 'Hotspots', where the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex and Europol work on the ground with frontline Member States to swiftly identify, register and fingerprint incoming migrants. Third, the European Agenda on Migration aims at better managing migration in the long term and in a sustainable way. The refugee and migration crisis in the EU has put the spotlight on immediate needs. But, as I said before, it has also revealed much about the structural limitations of EU migration policy. This is an opportunity for the EU to strike the right balance in its migration policy and send a clear message to EU citizens. Migration can be better managed collectively by all EU actors for the benefit of everybody. A robust fight against irregular migration, traffickers and smugglers, and securing Europe's external borders must be paired with a strong common asylum policy as well as a new European policy on legal migration. 3
A clear and well implemented framework for legal pathways to enter the EU will reduce push factors towards irregular stay and entry, contributing to enhance security of European borders as well as safety of migratory flows. We recognise that the skills needed for a vibrant economy cannot always immediately be found inside the EU labour market or will take time to develop. Legal migrants are key assets for our economies. But they should not be faced with reluctance and obstruction they should be given every assistance to integrate and fully contribute to the development of their new communities. But by the same token, the EU draws the consequences when migrants do not meet the criteria to stay. Unsuccessful asylum claimants who try to avoid return and migrants living in a permanent state of irregularity constitute a serious problem. This undermines confidence in the overall migration system. It offers strong arguments for those looking in the EU to criticise or stigmatise migration. It makes it harder to integrate those migrants or refugees legally staying in the EU. The EU will continue engaging beyond its borders and strengthen cooperation with its global partners, address root causes of migrations - being for need of protection or for economic reasons -, and promote modalities of legal migration. Just a few examples: the EU Trust funds for Africa with already a budget of 3.6 billion coming from the EU and EU Member States, and 1 billion for the Trust Fund for Syria. And recently 3 billion for Turkey. 4
The EU budget will spend more than 10 billion on the European Agenda on Migration in 2015 and 2016. A testimony of our commitment to deal not only with the current crisis but also beyond. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let's be clear, we are not building "fortress Europe". There will always be refugees that will continue to bang on our doors to look for safety. The EU is therefore organizing itself to manage these flows in an efficient manner that is fair for the EU citizens and host communities, as well as for the migrants. We want the EU to continue to be a safe haven for those fleeing persecution as well as an attractive destination for the talent of students, researchers and workers from third countries. Upholding our international commitments and values while securing our borders and at the same time creating the right conditions for Europe's economic prosperity and societal cohesion is a difficult balancing act that requires coordinated actions at European level. The current refugee and migration crisis has pushed us to take a fresh and comprehensive look at our migration policies. We still have a lot to achieve but I dare to say that we are on the right path. Thank you very much. 5