All 27 EU countries are ready to accept refugees from Ukraine. After a meeting of EU interior ministers on March 03, 2022, it was announced that the EU will activate a directive that guarantees war refugees from Ukraine protection in the EU - without costly asylum procedures. It's great that Europe is finally sticking together on taking in refugees. …
As shadow rapporteur, I am committed to improving the scope for action of civil society organizations
Civil society organizations play a central role in democracy and the development of civil society. However, they can only carry out their work effectively if there is no undue interference, intimidation or criminalization. Unfortunately, the spaces for many NGOs have become smaller in recent years. 37 % of local or regional organizations in the EU have …
War in Europe – what you can do now
We want to bring together those who have to flee from Putin's terror with people, organizations and initiatives in solidarity. On the LeaveNoOneBehind homepage you can register and learn what you can do. There are many possibilities, depending on how you want to help and what your capacities are: You can donate, you can volunteer, you can support your environment …
Development Committee delegation trip to Lebanon
At the end of February, I was in Lebanon as head of a delegation of five members of the Development Committee to get an overview of the situation on the ground. The socio-economic crisis in Lebanon has come to a head – many people do not have sufficient access to medical care, electricity and water. Children have not been going to school for months, …
„Partnership at eye level“ at EU-Africa summit a long way off
On February 17 and 18, the sixth and corona long-awaited EU-Africa Summit took place, where the leaders of the African Union and the European Union meet every three years, alternating between Europe and Africa. The summit was organized around seven different "roundtables." But most of the results were already set behind closed doors beforehand, without …
Commission refuses to respond to pushbacks by Croatia
Together with other members of my group, I submitted a question to the Commission on 11 October 2021 concerning the systematic pushbacks by Croatian police officers. The background of the question is that Spiegel and Tagesschau published video footage showing how Croatian border officials illegally deport protection seekers with brute force. Protection seekers are …
Spiegel: Traffic light politicians criticize brutality of Greek border guards
In an interview with Der Spiegel, I said: „This no longer has anything to do with border protection, these are crimes against humanity. The German government must show that, unlike the EU Commission, it is not looking the other way.“ You can read the whole article here.
Commission considers Greek processing of asylum applications to be contrary to European law
Greece rejects asylum applications on the grounds that Turkey is a „safe third country“, but Turkey does not allow them to enter. From a question of mine it now emerges that the EU Commission classifies this procedure as contrary to European law. Although Turkey has not accepted readmissions since March 2020, Greece rejects the applications of Syrian, Afghan, Somali, Pakistani and Bangladeshi …
Question: Greek law on return procedures
The Greek government is continuing to seal off Europe and in September passed a law that makes sea rescue and the observance of human rights in general even more difficult and is therefore contrary to European law. Together with members of my group, Left and Social Democrats, we have asked the EU Commission about this – however, the Commission deviates in its response …
This is the current situation on the Greek islands
Status: turn of the year 2021/22 At the moment there are officially 3.544 asylum seekers on the Greek islands Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros. Here you get an overview of the current situation on the islands. All figures come from the official statistics of the Greek Ministry of Migration, which you can view here. Under „National Situation: Migrant and Refugee Issue“ …