I traveled to Greece from September 19 to 21 as part of a delegation from my group in the European Parliament together with MEPs Tineke Strik from the Netherlands, Saskia Bricmont from Belgium and Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield from France. The aim of the trip is to get a picture of the current situation of refugees in Greece – but …
We need a coordinated EU mechanism for Russian dissidents and defectors
In my letter to the Commission, I join 34 other MEPs from four political groups in calling for the EU to establish a coordinated mechanism for Russian dissidents and defectors. You can find the original letter in English with all signatures here. Dear Commission President von der Leyen Dear Vice-President Schinas, Dear Commissioner Johansson, after the …
Question: Rejections despite interim measures of the ECtHR
I have submitted a question to the Commission on pushbacks at the land border between Greece and Turkey. The Commission expresses shock and concern about the reports and responds that it will review the current control mechanisms to safeguard fundamental rights. You can find the question with answers in several languages here. My question As from …
Question: EU funding for closed migration centers
The EU funds several closed migration centers with detention-like conditions in Greece. Despite available evidence from a Greek court and several non-governmental organizations, the Commission denies that detention-like conditions exist and furthermore claims that the rights of protection seekers are not broken. You can find the question with answers in several languages here. My question The EU funds …
Resilience and resistance – Study on the criminalization of solidarity.
This study, commissioned by the Green Group in the European Parliament, analyzes the state of criminalization of solidarity with refugees in the European Union. Full study in English and Italian and summary and policy recommendations in English, German, Italian, French and Greek People are put on trial for helping others on the run in a humanitarian way. This should …
EU pays €80 million to Egyptian coast guard
In response to my question, the Commission has stated that it will support the Egyptian Coast Guard with €80 million over the next two years to tow back refugees. You can find my question and the answer here. The full article from Statewatch, based on the question, can be found here.
My question on EU funding for the Egyptian Coast Guard
The Commission has explained here how it intends to fund the Egyptian coast guard with €80 million over the next two years so that it can drag people back into the country, even though the human rights situation is catastrophic. The Commission euphemistically calls this „preventing irregular migration by sea“. You can find the question with answers in several languages here. My …
Question: Hydrogen – added value for African partner countries?
Together with the other Green MEPs from the Development Committee, I have submitted a question to the Commission on the promotion of hydrogen as part of the Global Gateway Strategy. We have our doubts whether this hydrogen is really green and also we have also doubts whether the use of energy to produce hydrogen for export …
Question: EU action plan in response to events in Afghanistan
Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Commission suspended most of its agreements with the country and largely ceased cooperation with Afghanistan. Since then, it has developed an action plan in response to events in Afghanistan, which has been leaked to the media. I asked the following questions about it: The entire …
Question: Report of the Greek Transparency Authority
I asked the EU Commission on 25.05.2022 what it thinks about the fact that the Greek authorities immediately take arriving protection seekers into deportation custody and lock them in a prison that they are not allowed to leave. The Commission replies that it is aware of this practice and that it can be legally justified if less restrictive measures do not work. These „less …