The refugees and Europe

The meaning of solidarity

A massive flow of refugees has been arriving in Europe for several months, mainly from the Mediterranean region where quite a few countries are plunged into chaos. Our continent has not faced such a flux of suffering people since the Second World War; it started some years ago and it keeps on growing, urgently calling for solidarity solutions.

The peoples of Europe are well aware of the war horrors or persecutions that these men, women and children are seeking to escape. Numerous times in our history, especially during the 20th century, we have experienced the same. This is why the EU Member States who refuse to help the refugees, barricading the frontiers or pushing these victims from one country to another, commit a crime against the fundamental values of Europe and undermine the continent’s future which is based, above all, on solidarity.

The European Union, its main neighbours in the North of the Mediterranean as well as the international powers whose actions contributed to the disaster which nowadays deprives these people of their home, must promptly demonstrate solidarity in 3 ways :

• Solidarity with the refugees that one has to identify, host and help them find a future
• Solidarity with EU Member States of the Union in order to combine forces and respond decently to this drama
• Solidarity with neighbour countries on which our efforts of peace establishment and economic development must focus

The European Movement-France expects EU Member States to act together, as France and Germany already do, in order to resolve this crisis. Our countries have to stop quarrelling and blaming the European institutions for the systemic impotence that is caused by Member States’ deliberate indecision.

European Movement-France Board of Directors
Jean-Marie CAVADA, Member of European Parliament & President of the European Movement-France
with
Denis BADRE ; Agnès BAUCHE ; Philippe BERREE ; Isabelle BORDRY ; Bernadette BRAS ; Jessica CHAMBA ; Yves CLEMENT ; Bernard DELADERRIERE ; André GATTOLIN ; Pauline GESSANT ; Serge GUILLON ; Yannick HOPPE ; Jean-Claude HOUDOIN ; Florent LARDIC ; Patrick LEFAS ; Martine MEHEUT ; Julie MESSIER ; Olivier MOUSSON ; Etienne PFLIMLIN ; François-Xavier PRIOLLAUD ; Jérôme QUERE ; Dominika RUTKOWSKA-FALORNI ; Jean-Pierre SPITZER

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