In April, at least 130 people died after a shipwreck off the coast of Libya. This tragedy, like many others before it, could and should have been avoided. I have therefore put the following three questions to the Commission in a question. These and other questions can be found in full on the European Parliament's website. 1. how far were the ships …
Question: Does the EU support closed mass camps in Greece?
On 28.5.2021 the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum published a tender for the construction of the planned new "multi-purpose reception and identification centres" on Lesvos and Chios. A total of €142 million will be allocated for this purpose. The tender explicitly mentions that these will be "closed, controlled structures", 100 % of which will be financed with funds from the European …
Question: Construction of walls around Greek refugee camps
The Greek government is building more and more walls around the mass camps. This separates the refugees from the local population and makes the camps look more and more like prisons. That is why I, together with other MEPs, have asked the Commission what its position is on the construction and whether it is being supported with EU funds. The Commission replied, …
On its 70th birthday, the Geneva Convention on Refugees lies dying
Tomorrow we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Refugee Convention (GRC). The Refugee Convention is the most important document for the protection of refugees. A total of 149 states have signed up to it. But in the meantime it has become increasingly obvious that Europe is using force to close itself off instead of helping people in need. This is out of touch with history and a breach of the principles of the rule of law and …
Now, "I demand: Make migration boring again"
I wrote a book about asylum policy. A conversation about pull factors, the line between activism and politics, and what he would bet a case of beer on. You can read the interview here.
We call on the Commission to finally take action against Croatia's violent pushbacks
Recently, a shocking research was published by ARD, Lighthouse Reports, SRF, Spiegel and Novosti. This broad pan-European network of journalists published new reports of pushbacks by Croatian border officials, in six cases specifically documented with videos. Entire families and vulnerable people are being pushed back across the EU border. In one case it is …
Open letter to Heiko Maas on deportations to Afghanistan
The Taliban are conquering more and more territory, people are fleeing and the Afghan Government asked for a ban on deportations. I have taken all these events as an opportunity to write a letter to Heiko Maas. I ask him to reassess the current security situation in the situation report independently of any domestic political motives and in accordance with the new findings and developments …
EU Parliament adopts migration fund: almost €10 billion for asylum, migration and integration
The €9.88 billion Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for 2021-2027 aims to strengthen the common European asylum policy. We have achieved that funds can be applied for directly by regional and local authorities, so that EU states can no longer so easily prevent funding for committed cities and regions. As asylum spokesperson for the Greens/EFA in the European …
Talk without guest: With Erik Marquardt as guest
In this episode Moritz Neumeier and Till Reiners invited me as a guest in their podcast „Talk ohne Gast“. I still don't quite understand the principle, but I was very happy about the relaxed conversation, in which you also learn why I once drove through Bavaria dressed as a giant joint. The video …
A chronology of civilian rescue at sea
Tens of thousands of people drowned while fleeing in the Mediterranean. Instead of rescuing people, civilian sea rescuers are increasingly blocked and criminalized. Here I have written a chronicle of the civilian sea rescue of the past years. Background Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar al-Gaddafi signed a friendship treaty in 2008, in which Berlusconi apologized on behalf of Italy for colonial crimes and Gaddafi committed himself to …