Next time the public wants to point the finger to the Parliament, it is better they know the facts straight. The migrants' crisis was rightly and timely addressed by the Parliament. Other institutions did not fulfill their duties. MEP Alessia Mosca, sets the record straight for Vita International. «On this issue the European Parliament has worked well. Even before the migrants crisis broke out, the Parliament had already spoken out; calling for a joint European position on shared responsibility and the introduction of mandatory quotas. Both requests were then entered into the immigration agenda of the European Commission. Since the beginning, and not only during the emergency of the last two years, the European Parliament is the institution that has been the most decisive in transmitting the need for a shared responsibility on this issue. Often, however, the decisions made by Parliament have been diminished or weakened by other institutions - primarily the European Council, or national governments».
According to Mosca «it is important when criticizing Europe to keep clear in mind which of the institutions is not fulfilling its duty. In 80 to 90 percent of cases, it is the individual member states in the European Council that are not able to reach a decision».
The binding quotas, which disappeared from the decisions taken by the Council, and have led to the results we see today. «Of the 160,000 resettlements requested by the Parliament and Commission in mid-November, only 130 have been effectuated» utters the socialist MEP.

Photo: Getty/LOUISA GOULIAMAKI