The three largest parties in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe, together with the progressive Greens and the Left, backed the joint text, which will be voted on Thursday. This show of unity follows on the heels of the migrant shipwreck off the coast of Greece in June, which claimed hundreds of lives and again focused a spotlight on the issue.
Last week, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson called for greater coordination between member states on search and rescue and warned that it was only a matter of time before a similar incident happened again.
According to a draft document seen by the Brussels-based news portal Politico, the parliamentary text calls for the establishment of a comprehensive EU search and rescue mission to be carried out by the relevant authorities of member states and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex);
The parliamentary motion also calls for EU member states to keep the nearest safe harbours open for NGO vessels and not to criminalise such groups.
The document furthermore calls on the Commission to check that the returning of migrants is in line with European and international law.
The tragedy took place outside Greek territory, so it entails international responsibility,
EPP President Manfred Weber said at a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday, referring to recent similar incidents in Lampedusa, Italy, and Ceuta, Spain.
Members of the European Parliament also had harsh words for the Libyan coastguard, which has again come under scrutiny after opening fire on an NGO boat on Friday. The text accused the Libyan authorities of detaining migrants in inhumane conditions and carrying out torture, rape and arbitrary killings.
Cover photo: A boat arrives in the port of Catania, Sicily, with hundreds of migrants on board. (Source: MTI/EPA/ANSA/Orietta Scardino)
