Interim assessment of the German Council Presidency

We MEPs from the Green Group on Europe have drawn up an interim balance sheet and are now providing an overview of the various topics. In asylum and migration issues, Germany has blocked a lot and achieved little during this period, and the crises at the external borders have worsened during the German Council Presidency. Here are the assessments of my areas of work at a glance: Mass camps for …

How the EU facilitates deportations to the most dangerous country in the world

In 2016, the EU and Afghanistan signed the Joint Way Forward Agreement during the Brussels Donor Conference. The aim is to facilitate deportations to Afghanistan. It is an informal, non-binding legal instrument and the European Parliament was not involved in the agreement. Because the agreement expired on 6 October this year, the EU would like to have a new agreement in place by the end of …

Berlin sues Seehofer

Things are finally moving forward: the state of Berlin is taking legal action against the Federal Ministry of the Interior so that Berlin can finally take in refugees. The lawsuit is promising, because Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants to prevent the admission despite legal leeway. More information can be found in the press release of the Berlin state government. Who wants to deal more intensively with the legal framework: I have a …

Question: Human rights violations by Greek authorities

In order to be able to exercise my parliamentary control function as an MEP, I have the opportunity to put questions to the European Commission. Together with other Members, I have put the following questions to the Commission: Subject: Systematic and coordinated push-backs by the Greek authorities On 17 August 2020, the New York Times published an article with the …

Question: How is the EU tackling incitement on the net?

In order to be able to exercise my parliamentary control function as an MEP, I have the opportunity to put questions to the European Commission. Together with other Members, I have put the following questions to the Commission: Question with priority for written answer P-004488/2020 to the Commission Subject: Commission's efforts to combat the spread of racism, hatred …

RND: Human rights violations by Frontex

The European Border Agency Frontex is involved in illegal pushbacks. These cases must now be cleared up – „otherwise the EU Commission will make itself an accomplice to systematic human rights violations at the EU's external borders," as I told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

25 EU successes that make our lives better

If you look at the EU today, the abuses often stand out: at the external borders, human rights are too often only valid on paper, there are Member States that completely refuse to show European solidarity and reports about strange laws that come from Brussels. One thing is clear: many things need to be improved, but no EU is …

One month after the fire: the situation on Lesbos

After the catastrophe at the beginning of September I travelled to Lesbos to get a picture on the spot. For the people from the burned camp Moria, everything has only gotten worse since then – despite all the promises.In an interview with Radio eins (RBB), I talk about the situation on the ground, and what to do now …

Guest contribution: Tear down Moria!

The Berliner Zeitung asked me to write a guest article on the occasion of 30 years of German unity:The courage of 1989 should be more important than the fear of 2015. Let's not look the other way when the EU bears witness at the external borders. I am writing these lines on Lesbos, one of the most beautiful places in Europe, which these days is experiencing one of its most terrible …

Migration pact – Why the EU Commission's proposal does not prevent another Moria

The EU Commission's proposal for the migration pact won't prevent another Moria. On the contrary, it would cast the model of the Greek mass camps in legal form. Border procedures and closed camps at the external borders would become the norm in Europe. The failure of the Dublin system would be perpetuated and escalated, further without a mandatory solidarity-based reception of refugees. Also …

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