Jean-Luc Mélenchon calls for the distribution of "authoritative" migrants in European countries

June 18, 2023

“What is happening in the Mediterranean is abominable”, judged Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday after the sinking of a migrant boat, believing that the Dublin agreements must be reviewed, and the migrants distributed “by authority” in the different European countries.

“What is happening in the Mediterranean is abominable, the behavior of the Greek authorities is atrocious”, declared the leader of France Insoumise on BFMTV after the sinking of a boat with hundreds of migrants off the coast of Greece, which made at least 78 dead.

For Jean-Luc Mélenchon, it is necessary to review the Dublin agreements, which leave the care of asylum seekers to the countries of first arrival in the EU.

“With the Dublin agreements, where you arrive, you stay, this is unacceptable,” he said.

For Mr. Mélenchon, “what the European Union decided” during a recent agreement between member states which has yet to be negotiated with Parliament, “is a shame”.

According to him, migrants must be “authoritatively distributed” in European countries.

What if some countries don’t? “The question is not whether they want to or not, but whether it is necessary or not. Otherwise what is the point of being the European Union?” he replies.

The agreement reached on Thursday between EU interior ministers provides in particular that member states are each required to receive a certain number of asylum seekers who have arrived in an EU country subject to migratory pressure ( according to their population and their GDP/capita), or failing to make a financial contribution, of 20,000 euros per asylum seeker not relocated.

For Jean-Luc Mélenchon, “it is not a sanction. If you give 20,000 euros, you are rid of it. This means that those who have money to pay for the fact that they do not want immigrants “, will pay, he laments.

He also judged as an “abomination”, the fact “that we decided to deport to safe third countries”.

“We are going to set up camps in the countries that are on the other side of the Mediterranean”, he denounced, “and it starts with those who cannot say no like Tunisia, which is caught by the throat by the IMF” (International Monetary Fund) because of its economic situation, he lamented.