Following the discussion in the plenary of the European Parliament in Brussels, the president of the Socialists and Democrats Group, Gianni Pittella, stated:
"Europe has lost its vision of the future. In dealing with migration, we take note that some member states have reaffirmed their willingness to do whatever it takes to save lives in the Mediterranean sea. However others, namely Hungary, have threatened to build new walls and suspend the rights of asylum seekers. National selfishness still prevails over solidarity. And this national selfishness threatens to prevail in the conclusions of the next Council.
"The Commission's proposal is reasonable. But even this proposal - much less ambitious than what president Juncker, vice-president Timmermans and high representative Federica Mogherini, fought for - met the opposition of some governments. The whole discussion seems to be limited to a mediocre rhetorical exercise over the concrete measures to be taken.
"We firmly condemn Orban, but his foolish decisions are the 'poisoned fruit' of the lack of vision and solidarity shown by some European governments. The lack of EU decisions and actions on migration fuel populists.
"We are horrified by the idea of a Europe in which new walls are being built, in which human beings are tossed around like cattle at the border between Italy and France, in which politicians stand by as desperate migrants swarm the trucks heading from Calais into the UK.
"Europe must regain its credibility and its vision of the future. Let's change the Dublin Regulation, let's create a truly all-encompassing common immigration policy for Europe, based on compulsory solidarity between member states and common rules in terms of refugee, asylum, control and repatriation policies. Let's be and act as a real Europe."
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