34 Amendments of Brando BENIFEI related to 2015/2095(INI)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- Having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child z\on 20 November 1989 and to the European Parliament resolution of 27 November 2014 on the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to promote an integration strategy with a rights based approach, coordinated with local and regional authorities, and taking on board social partners, civil society as well as migrant and refugees voices; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the needs of those deserving international protection and of vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors, women (especially pregnant, young girls and single mothers), youth, children and elderly, and when possible, to promote relevant actions in third countries during the pre-departure stage;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Encourages the Commission to enhance the dialogue on migration and skills with business and labour to identify labour market shortages in specific industry sectors, including entrepreneurship, in the view of opening well-managed legal channels of migration or opportunities for employment of refugees; such a dialogue should be based on a balanced representation of interests for a right-based integration of migrants and refugees in the labour market;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission Communication 'Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors',[1]and the European Parliament Resolution of 12 September 2013 on the situation of unaccompanied minors in the EU [1] COM 82010)0213 def Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors (2010-2014)
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Maintains that labour market dataand social situation data (poverty and social exclusion as well as inequality) have to be taken into account in the pPermanent rRelocation mMechanism for refugees in order to ensure that it will not worsen the social and economic situation for refugees’ home territories and their populations, especially in regions hit harder by the economic crisis and Member States more indebted and still in process of fiscal consolidation;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that, in order to seriously address the root causes of the current refugee crisis, the European Union must be at the forefront of a serious and credible diplomatic and political international initiative on both Libya and Syria, which should engage all the main interlocutors and stakeholders involved, in cooperation with and in support of the UN and, in particular, with its Envoys Bernardino Leon and Staffan De Mistura;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that, in the Commission’s view, there is nothing to prevent European funds, including the European Social Fund, from being used to help integrate refugees; calls on fund managing authorities, however, to use the funds as effectively as possible withoutto tackle the integration of refugees in order not to damaginge other recipients especially the most vulnerable groups;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Urges the Commission to focus in the mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework foreseen in 2016, in the EU budget, and especially the European Social Fund, further towards social and labour market integration of refugees with legal status; calls on the Commission to explore the use of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in measures of social and labour market integration of non-EU nationals; calls on the Member States to make full use of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) combined with other EU Funds to provide the necessary investment to integrate the inflow of refugees in the mid-term;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission to be flexible with the application of the Stability and Growth Pact and the common rules of public finances with additional public spending or investment related to arrival, adoption and integration of third country nationals and stateless, in order not to be detrimental to social cohesion and quality public services provided by local communities;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls for the HR/VP and the External Action Service to be given the necessary tools and mandate to deploy the political and diplomatic action needed in the region within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, in coordination with the Member States;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission, in consultation with the Member States, to set up a system to speed up diploma equivalence and theformal and informal recognition of skills, thereby helping refugees and migrants to integrate socially; maintains that refugees and migrants must receive language training as soon as they arrive in the country to which they have been relocated; notes that a smooth integration of refugees and migrants in the hosting communities requires a mobilisation of all institutional and civil society forces as social partners can play a role for reaping benefits of a faster integration of migrants and refugees in the local labour market;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas in 2015, over 3.771 persons are reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean sea, according to the International Organisation for Migration8 ; whereas children represent 30 per cent of all recorded deaths in the Aegean Sea[1]; whereas according to recent Europol data at least 10 000 unaccompanied children have disappeared after arriving in Europe [1] IOM and UNICEF, Data Brief: Migration of Children to Europe, http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/press _release/file/IOM-UNICEF-Data-Brief- Refugee-and-Migrant-Crisis-in-Europe- 30.11.15.pdf __________________ 8 IOM, Missing Migrants Project, http://missingmigrants.iom.int/.
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out to the Commission that illegal work by migrants constitutes a danger; notes that under the ‘'Sanctions’' Directive1 and the ‘'Seasonal Workers’' Directive2 , employers can be punished for exploiting migrant labour; urges the Commission to prevent severe labour exploitation; calls on the Commission, however, to work towards a more integration-oriented system serving to encompass all aspects of thisese problems; __________________ 1 Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals, OJ L 168, 30.6.2009, p. 24. 2 Directive 2014/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers, OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 375.
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Encourages the Commission and Member States to promote and support initiatives of the organised civil society aimed at providing assistance to migrants and refugees for instance via the European network of contact points for migrants, Union Migrant Net, etc., just few examples of cross-border cooperation among contact points providing information and assistance for integration to migrant;
Amendment 150 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers that migrant children are particularly vulnerable, especially when they are unaccompanied; recalls that unaccompanied children are above all children and that child protection, rather than immigration policies, must be the leading principle when dealing with them, thus respecting the core principle of the best interests of the child;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Encourages the VP/HR and the EEAS to continue to support the process of ratification of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, the Protocol thereto to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition;
Amendment 161 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Condemns the increasing criminalisation of irregular migration within the EU at the expense of the human rights of the people concerned; urges that provision be made without delay for the establishment of the necessary human rights safeguards, accountability and enforcement mechanisms;
Amendment 163 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Requests that the Commission and the EEAS participate actively in the debate on the term ‘climate refugee', including its possible legal definition in international law or in any legally binding international agreement;
Amendment 165 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Recognises statelessness as a significant human rights challenge; asks the Commission and the EEAS to fight statelessness in all EU external action, in particular by addressing discrimination in nationality laws on the basis of gender, religion or a minority status, by promoting children's right to a nationality and by supporting the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) campaign aimed at ending statelessness by 2024;
Amendment 169 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Paragraph 6 g (new)
6g. Considers that international cooperation to Development needs to be reinforced taking into consideration the phenomenon of migration. the real development of third countries shall be the way to tackle the root causes of the refugee crisis;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Suggests, in that respect, that search and rescue capacities must be strengthened, and that Member States’ governments must deploy more resources – in terms of financial assistance and assets – in the context of a Union-wide humanitarian operation, dedicated to finding, rescuing and assisting migrants in peril and bringing them to the closest place of safety, recommends that, in planning such search and rescue operations, child specific measures be taken, such as child safeguarding policies in manuals on search and rescue, child protection trainings and child-focused care at disembark;
Amendment 431 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that the preferences of the applicant should, as much as practically possible, be taken into account when carrying out relocation; recognises that this is one way of discouraging secondary movements and encouraging applicants themselves to accept relocation decisions, but that it should not stop the relocation process; further recalls that the best interest of the child must be a primary consideration should always guide any decision on relocation involving children;
Amendment 656 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)
Paragraph 40 b (new)
40 b. Requests Member States to consider the possibility of regularising migrants in an irregular situation, particularly those who have achieved a degree of integration in the labour market and those who cannot be returned for humanitarian or practical reasons;
Amendment 705 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Encourages the Member States to seek to keep families together, which will assist integration prospects in the long-term as the focus can be directed towards the establishment of a new life instead of concerns towards family members that are still in insecure situations; urges Member States to take all measures necessary to prevent the separation of a child from his/her parents;
Amendment 723 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. On Unaccompanied Minors (new title)
Amendment 724 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Recalls that refugee and migrant children should be provided with information on their right to family reunification and how to claim it in a child-friendly way; Recalls that support and protection should be extended to unaccompanied and separated children, in line with their best interests, and that applications for family reunification filed by unaccompanied and separated children should be expedited;
Amendment 725 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Paragraph 47 c (new)
47 c. Calls on Member States to fully apply the specific provisions of the Common European Asylum System concerning unaccompanied minors, including access to legal assistance, guardianship, access to healthcare, accommodation and education, the right to be spoken in a language they understand, to have interviews with trained officials not in a uniform, etc.; calls on the Member States to end detention of children because they are migrants.
Amendment 726 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 d (new)
Paragraph 47 d (new)
47 d. Calls on the Member States to ensure that refugee and migrant children enjoy rapid and non-discriminatory access to national services, including child protection systems, in line with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with the same level of care and support recognised to national children deprived of parental care; calls on Member States to gather disaggregated data on the situation of refugee and migrant children in order to improve the ability of systems to integrate refugee and migrant children;
Amendment 727 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 e (new)
Paragraph 47 e (new)
47 e. Believes that age assessment should be carried out in a manner that is multi- disciplinary, safe and in respect of children's physical integrity and human dignity, with particular attention to girls and should be performed by independent, qualified practitioners and experts; calls for legal guardians to be appointed to support unaccompanied and separated children immediately upon identification and calls on the Member States to speed up procedures for appointing legal guardians
Amendment 773 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Believes that the return of migrants should only be carried out safely, in full compliance with the fundamental and procedural rights of the migrants in question, and where the country to which they are being returned is safe for them; reiterates, in that regard, that voluntary return should be prioritised over forced returns; recalls no child should be returned without a thorough risk assessment, conducted by independent child protection officer, and based on Country of Origin Information reports in cooperation with non-governmental, local and international organisation to ensure protection and reintegration after their return;
Amendment 1030 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85 a (new)
Paragraph 85 a (new)
85a. Welcomes the commitments taken at the Valletta summit which recognise the need to give hope and opportunities to young people, and to protect children from violence and abuse;
Amendment 1138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 100
Paragraph 100
100. Encourages the Member States to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by funds which are not directly related to migration policy, but which can be used to fund actions in that area (e.g. integration actions), such as those available under the European Social Fund, the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, Horizon 2020, the European Regional Development Fund and the Rights and Citizenship Programme; Calls on the Commission to raise the allocation of the European Social Fund to the 25% share of the cohesion policy budget in the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, in order to cope with the labour market integration and social inclusion of refugees;
Amendment 1145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 102
Paragraph 102
102. Points out that securing operational funding is a key challenge for NGOon- Governmental Organisations as most funding is project-related; affirms that social partners (representative employers and workers organizations), volunteer and civil-society initiatives dedicated to providing assistance to migrants and refugees should be promoted and, where appropriate, funded by the European Commission and the Member States; calls on the Member States and the Commission to seek, where appropriate and possible, to fund projects managed by social partners and civil society organisations working in the areas of migration, integration and asylum;
Amendment 1149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 103
Paragraph 103
103. Reiterates that social partner and civil society involvement in the development of Union actions and national programmes must be ensured, in line with the partnership principle as laid down in AMIF; proposes that, at Union level, thought could be given to regular consultation between the Commission, employers' organizations, trade unions and relevant civil society organisations working on migration, asylum and integration issues;