mr president no one underestimates the enormous difficulties of creating the balance mentioned by the chair of our committee and of the migration pressures which face the european union and the pressures that we face in the mediterranean
yet again this summer we have been reminded of the harsh reality faced by migrants and asylum seekers facing persecution and fleeing poverty
frontex undoubtedly plays a key role in europe's approach to migration
as we build a more coordinated eu system for managing our external borders the importance of frontex increases
therefore my group believes that it is crucial to get the balance right the balance between on the one hand resourcing frontex as many colleagues have mentioned and on the other hand ensuring that frontex has a stronger appreciation of the humanitarian aspects of its work
for example how can frontex help bring down the tragic number of deaths at sea over twelve zero in the last ten years
sea rescue operations have therefore to be included in its remit
the devil is in the detail
many of these policies need to work on the ground and i know that parliament commission and council are trying to do this
we must ensure that frontex does not simply become a mechanism for keeping people out of europe
those who are legitimately in need of protection must be granted access to eu territory
commissioner you spoke about the principle of non-refoulement
it is important that you restated it
the situation for italy and libya is of course something which my colleagues from italy will speak more about but this principle must not be violated by anyone or any country
we are in a situation where non-refoulement will happen even with countries which have not signed the nineteen fifty-one convention
it is important that we uphold these human rights
we must not shy away from our responsibilities to provide protection to those who need it
frontex therefore needs to be part of a fair and balanced approach to migration and asylum
we must ensure that the asylum package is implemented and we must ensure that legal migration and the protection of refugees are held in balance
