Refugees must be better informed on legal ways to enter EU, says Buttiglione

During his hearing in the Parliament, Commissioner
designate for freedom, security and justice Rocco
Buttiglione has suggested that EU representatives be
sent out to the reception centres in North Africa to advise
asylum-seekers on their rights and to weed out fake
applicants.

During his hearing on 5 October, MEPs
challenged Rocco Buttiglione’s support for
setting up migrant gateways in north Africa. To him,
reception centres for asylum-seekers and economic
immigrants outside the EU are the only way to stop the
humanitarian crisis currently taking place in the
Mediterannean. He said these camps aim to make people
aware of the opportunities to immigrate legally to the
EU.  “I did not propose concentration camps. I
proposed centres for humanitarian relief (…) we should
allow people to come legally on planes and not on rubbish
boats,” he said.

The Italian university professor highlighted that
since the terrorist attacks in New York and Madrid
“society demands more security”. “We are
at war with terrorism,” he said. He pledged to fight
terrorism and boost security without undermining privacy
rights. In spite of his links with the right-wing
American Enterprise Institute, Buttiglione sought to
distance himself from the Bush administrations policies.
“We are not twins,” he said, adding that the EU
could not support policies such as the detention of
suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

Buttiglione, a
practising catholic, was forced by some
MEPs into a heated debate on homosexuality.
Rocco Buttiglione said it was important to make
a “distinction between morality and law. I may think
of homosexuality as a sin but it has no effect unless I
say it is a crime”. Asked to define marriage, the
Italian conservative said the institution was set up
“for women to have children while having the
protection of a man”. He noted that “this is
the view in of 22 of the 25 member states”, whereas
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain now allow same-sex
marriages. Buttiglione said the definition of marriage
should remain a national competence but added that
“women are not given adequate support to build
families and that “there are too few children born
in Europe”.

After the hearing, the Socialist
group issued a statement saying that
Buttiglione had left too many serious doubts, although
they refrained from saying whether they would seek a
change in his portfolio within the Commission. But right
wing MEP Ewa Klamt defended the Italian arguing that,
European home affairs, asylum and immigration policy will
be in good hands with Rocco Buttiglione in the
future.”  

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