WEBINAR: Migration in times of COVID-19

The unforgotten tragedy, waiting for the new EU pact

Covid-19 is a game-changer for migration, affecting the lives of migrants and asylum seekers across Europe, while pointing to structural weaknesses in the EU’s policies.

The pandemic has forced the Commission to postpone the publication of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. At the same time, the humanitarian emergency and the tensions on the EU’s external borders, together with Member States’ uncoordinated approaches to the coronavirus, made it increasingly challenging for migrants and refugees to get access to rights and opportunities, further exposing the already fragile European asylum system.

COVID-19 made it clear that a long-term and sustainable migration and asylum policies are more urgent than ever. Will the New Pact for on Migration and Asylum be ambitious enough to strengthen the right to asylum, set the conditions for more equal relationships with third countries and put forward a mechanism that can foster genuine solidarity between member states?

On 20 May 2020, EESC President Luca Jahier, MEP Juan Fernando Aguilar López, Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi and ECRE Secretary General Catherine Woollard discussed how the EU can advance an ambitious agenda on Migration that is fit for these uncertain times. Moderated by Spokesperson Daniela Vincenti.

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