Press Release
Brussels, 15 June 2018
Cynicism does not make politics.
The tragic fate of the people rescued by the Aquarius ship testifies of the cynicism of a European Union that has lost the meaning of the very values on which it claims to be based on.
While the Italian authorities forgot their duties by asking the NGO SOS Méditerranée to rescue the people at sea, but denying access to its ports, the attitude of France is equally open to being criticised.
In fact, no ports were offered by France, which, quite the opposite, has closed its borders with Italy, turning an entire region into a lawless area for migrants: the French authorities have no lessons to give to anyone.
Spain’s decision to open its port to the refugees of the Aquarius does certainly have an impact on the perilous journey of 629 women, men and children, but this decision does not solve anything: on this very day, 41 people are stuck on a US Army vessel facing a new refusal by the Italian authorities to let them disembark.
The cause of this outrageous situation is the European policy, or rather the absence of a European policy on Asylum.
The intolerable ping-pong diplomacy within European governments must stop.
The more we wait, the more people will die and the less humanity will be left here in Europe.