Speech: Opening Remarks of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos at Kos Press Conference

Met dank overgenomen van F.C.G.M. (Frans) Timmermans i, gepubliceerd op vrijdag 4 september 2015.

Opening remarks by First Vice-President Frans Timmermans i

Dimitris Avramopoulos i and I are today at the place where Europe begins. We are at the place closest to the other parts of the world, where now conflict is rampant. The effects of those conflicts are felt all across Europe. There is not one single European nation that is not affected by the tragedies as a consequence of people fleeing for their lives from other parts of the world, especially from Syria.

Kos is at forefront because here many people arrive. It is at forefront but it can't be left alone with this problem. This is a global challenge that requires European solutions and European solidarity. Ladies and gentlemen, we are facing a moment of truth in European history. We can succeed jointly and united or we can fail each in our own way, in our own country, on our own islands.

We are here to express the European Commission's solidarity with the people of Kos and Greece. They have shown a remarkable amount of humanity vis-à-vis the refugees. Today we spoke to officials, to NGOS and to entrepreneurs. Whatever their anxieties, the overwhelming sentiment is one of humanity, of wanting to do the right thing. But Kos can't be asked to do the right thing alone. It's been too long from the demands of Kos to the reaction of the outside world.

Yesterday Dimitris and I had very constructive talks with the interim Government. And today we had very constructive talks with the Mayor and other authorities. We believe that in the very very near future we can show concrete improvements and results. We need to make sure that we are in a position to receive people in a humane fashion, to quickly ascertain their identity by fingerprinting them, and then taking them to a place where their asylum request can be assessed in due course; that is what we need to do. We need to provide for decent humanitarian conditions as well.

You have seen that this leads to a heated response across Europe in every State. Some feel they can do it alone or be left to the side - impossible. That's why Jean-Claude Juncker i will present next week the European Commission's proposals on how we will do better in the future. That is why I also see that countries are getting together to see how we can find solutions. Specifically I want to refer to the initiative by the German Chancellor and the French President.

We have received firm commitments from the Greek authorities. We want to see results on the ground in the coming days, weeks and months. We will make sure we follow up on this when we leave. We will also have to make sure that people who have no right to asylum are quickly identified and returned.

A Europe without borders can't survive in the present conditions. Our society is built on certain premises of organised solidarity that would be undermined if we simply would say that everybody can come in. But Europe can't survive either if we take leave of our values and our legal obligations vis-à-vis people who have the right to protection when they flee from war and persecution. This is the balance Europe will have to strike now. This is the balance we will have to find to make sure that we protect our society and at the same time to make sure that we don't abandon our most fundamental values, and our legal obligations by the way, which require of us that if somebody flees from a dire situation because they are persecuted, because there is war, that they have safe refuge in Europe. If we forget this we forget who we are and we leave Europe to the xenophobes and extremists who will destroy it and who will destroy the way our society is organised.

I want to finish by saying that our presence here today is inspired by our wish, both of us, to not duck or hide when something is difficult, but to go to the place where it is difficult, and to provide solutions to those difficulties, jointly with local, regional and national authorities.

Opening remarks by Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos

Dear friends,

What brought us here today is the reality that we know all too well. It is the voice of agony of both the residents of Kos and the desperate people who crossed the sea under dramatic circumstances to follow their dream.

The reality that we are all experiencing today is not only local, national or European. It's a global reality.

So here today, the presence of the European Commission, at its highest level, with the participation of the First Vice President and the Commissioner responsible for migration, underlines our determination to help the work of local, regional and national authorities. We need to resolve all outstanding issues to tackle this problem, which took by surprise our countries, societies and Europe as a whole.

I want to be honest with you, this crisis which is ongoing and is directly connected with the geopolitical instability and the great problems people face in neighbouring countries, will not end overnight, and no measures can deal with it definitively.

So what we need is a method, a system. And this requires political will. The principles governing the EU for managing this issue are principles laid down by the Treaties: the principles of solidarity and responsibility. These two principles can only deliver results when they act together.

Our presence here in Kos and yesterday in Athens is to engage in a meaningful and honest dialogue. To determine the kind of help Greece needs from Europe. To see how the EU can help tackle the problem, especially when it manifests itself in its most extreme forms.

Kos is experiencing dramatic hours, which has a direct impact on its social cohesion and its commercial activity. However, the situation has revealed that the island is one of most hospitable islands of the country; one of the most inviting destinations. This has to do with the tradition of the island and it's something the residents of Kos can be proud of.

Fortunately, we have not witnessed any extreme behaviour. There have been some minor incidents, but they are irrelevant because they do not represent the people of Kos who are very giving, despite the shortcomings in aid and assistance.

Yesterday, the discussion with the government was substantial and produced positive results.

Many of the measures announced yesterday and which I also have the opportunity to explain today are now in the implementation phase.

Europe has always shown its support. Numerous visits have taken place in order to help Greece.

But this enormous wave of irregular migrants and refugees has overwhelmed its management capacities.

The number of refugees - those seeking asylum in the Aegean - is growing. Their management in an island is not easy.

The municipal and regional authorities are doing their best, but the current situation and the images we see have to change.

The migration crisis is not just Greek, or Italian, or Hungarian, Austrian and German. This is a European crisis.

It, therefore, requires the policy we have put forward. It requires a European response.

The Commission took the initiative from the very beginning of its term, about a year ago, and in a very short period of time it brought results. Now Europe has a comprehensive migration policy, but without the full engagement of the Member States, it will not succeed.

The European Agenda on Migration covers all aspects: humanitarian, political, institutional and administrative.

Today here in Kos we discussed the measures that we need to take. And as I said earlier, they require cooperation in a spirit of understanding and solidarity among all institutional levels, both national and European.

Greece, like all Member States, must show responsibility and must apply the common rules of our migration policy. First of all, it has to apply the Common European Asylum System, not only legality reasons but mainly for substantial reasons.

The "hotspot" must start functioning immediately. This means that the EU agencies Frontex, Europol, Eurojust and EASO and their officials will be able to start their coordinated work and deal with all the requests.

They will have to separate the refugees from irregular migrants. The refugees will receive the necessary protection according to international law, while the rest will have to return to their countries of origin.

The "Hotspot" will function in Piraeus. At the same time, reception areas need to be set up as soon as possible at the entry points which are experiencing massive migration flows.

This is what we discussed with the authorities. These actions will not only help on an operational side but also on the human side of this challenge. We need to erase the images of misery and inhumanity.

The authorities should also immediately take all the necessary administrative actions in order for the Commission to start the disbursement of funds from the national programs.

They should also start immediately with the necessary preparatory work in order to start the resettlement process in other Member States. The systematic registration of migrants is a prerequisite. EASO and Frontex will support Greece in this process.

Furthermore, we recently decided to strengthen Frontex by tripling its budget. Its operational area in the Aegean has quadrupled and it has received the necessary infrastructure and means to meet its mission.

The European agencies that will comprise the "hotspot" will help with registration, fingerprinting, identification of migrants and will also process information concerning the smugglers and criminal networks that facilitate illegal migration.

I want to repeat that Europe has declared war against smugglers. Behind the dramatic images hide the well organized criminal networks. So we have to do everything possible to neutralize them.

Financial support is another key issue.

Yesterday and today we reminded the Greek authorities that there is an urgent need to complete the designation of the competent administrative authority in order for us to begin the disbursement of approximately 450 million in financial support. This will allow Greece to receive immediately a first tranche of EUR 33 million.

Also, we managed to make available additional emergency funds to frontline Member States.

Today I was pleased to hear that the government announcement that it has filed the necessary request. Without this request, Greece would not be able to receive emergency funds for reception centres and humanitarian aid.

Last but not least, Greece can receive, if requested, additional European support, by asking for the activation of the Civil Protection Mechanism.

We, the European Commission, remain fully committed to continue to implement every aspect of the European Agenda on Migration.

We are holding the door, but Member States hold the key.

And I must emphasize that both the Vice-President Timmermans as I personally, were positively surprised by the efforts being made these days by the Greek authorities, to close all outstanding issues.

However I would like to emphasize that it is particularly important to further promote in the spirit of solidarity, understanding and cooperation between the central government and the local authorities.

Refugees see Europe for the first time ever, when they arrive here, at our islands. And it is our duty to welcome them with dignity and respect.

Greeks know very well what hospitality means. Let me add also that it's heartening to see the humanity and daily solidarity of the islanders, despite the unprecedented economic crisis.

The same applies to the staff of the Greek Coast Guard and the Greek Police, who are acting selflessly to save lives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The migration crisis is not somewhere far away. It is happening right in front of us.

Both Vice President Timermans and I chose to come here in Kos to have these important meetings, rather than just Athens. We also went to Calais. We will go to Austria, Germany and Hungary. It is our duty.

The European Commission is not a faceless bureaucratic and administrative machine. It is run by people who understand and are sensitive to what is happening.

When ordinary citizens hurt when they view of the dramatic images of shipwrecks and drownings of young children, we also hurt.

As I said this morning during the meeting, I will never forget the time I went to Malta to attend the funeral of hundreds of unidentified migrants, among them many young children.

These images are putting European civilization in front of its responsibilities.

That is why there must be no place and space for xenophobia, racism and extremism.

We are, above all, people. And as I also mentioned today, Greeks have a history of refugees.

For example, 30-40% of the residents of our host island have a refugee roots. The same holds for the people of Lesvos, the Dodecanese islands and everywhere.

In modern times, Greeks has migrated to every corner of the world. That's why more than half of the Greek nation lives outside the country's borders.

We are in a country where humanism was born and became a universal value which is inseparable from the values of Europe. Our presence here, the measures we have decided and the solidarity and support we offer to Member States and local communities, are in this spirit.

We can only face and overcome this crisis if we act as a true Union, in full solidarity.

I leave Greece with the hope that at the upcoming meetings in Brussels, we will make another step forward and that the Member States will come together and, united, will move in the European direction.

Europe cannot and will not turn its back to its Member States or to the people in need of protection. Anything less would be unworthy of the European Union. Anything less would be unworthy of the principles and values on which the common European project has been built on.

I want to thank also the Vice President Timmermans with whom we have an excellent cooperation and a common understanding of all issues concerning Europe; our presence here today is not symbolic or formal but substantial and, above all, European and human.

SPEECH/15/5595

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