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European Parliament backs more funds to deal with migrant crisis

Xinhua, July 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament (EP) approved extra funding of around 70 million euros (about 77 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday to help cope with the growing number of migrants coming to Europe.

Agencies managing migration flows into the European Union (EU) and two EU funds for migration measures should get a 69.6 million euros budget boost for extra staff and other expenses for this year, after the EP backed a European Commission proposal for the additional funding.

Parliament has been calling for bigger budgets in the wake of the April tragedies in the Mediterranean that cost the lives of around 1,200 migrants.

However, MEPs noted that even this increase in financing and staff numbers may not be enough to meet real needs in handling the flow of migrants in the Mediterranean, let alone possible future migration from Ukraine.

The budget increase of 75.7 million euros in commitments and 69.6 million euros in payments would be financed mostly with funds first planned for the Galileo European satellite navigation system, which MEPs want to be replenished in 2016.

The EU's border management agency Frontex will receive 26.8 million euros, tripling the funding available for the Triton and Poseidon surveillance operations.

In June, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg, calling for greater protection of the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. He told the CoE that nearly 60 million people were forcibly displaced in 2014. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollars) Endit