EU citizens are seeing at first hand how the 2008 Dublin system has been straining to cope with the unprecedented number of asylum seekers and migrants striving to reach the European Union.
To tackle this humanitarian crisis and help those Member States that are struggling with it the most, the Commission has presented a 'Permanent Relocation Mechanism' to complement the Dublin regulation.
Of course, this new legislative proposal promptly raised an array of questions regarding its functioning, fairness and feasibility. How will it work in concrete terms, and who will decide when the new mechanism is triggered? On what criteria will the distribution be determined? Who will have the right to apply to be relocated? Is the UK compelled to participate? Shouldn't we get a new Dublin agreement in place first?
We will tackle these and other issues in a panel led by MEP Timothy Kirkhope, member of the Civil Liberties Committe and rapporteur on the same 'Permanent Relocation Mechanism'. The debate will include a delegate from the European Commission, an academic, an international reporter, and an NGO representative - all with extensive knowledge of asylum and migration issues. A full list of speakers to be announced soon.
Moderator
- Quentin Peel, Chatham House
Speakers
- Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Rapporteur for the proposal of Regulation establishing a crisis relocation mechanism, ECR Group (Conservative Party)
- Zrinka Bralo, Member of Board, Women's Refugee Commission; CEO, Migrants Organise
- Dr Nando Sigona, Birmingham Fellow, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of IRiS, University of Birmingham