EU warns of fines if states backtrack on refugees relocation

The European Union has threatened to impose fines on member states that do not abide by their promises regarding the relocation of refugees.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday that the bloc would take legal action against members that won’t comply with a relocation scheme by September.

“If we don't have tangible efforts by September... the commission will not hesitate to make use of its power,” Avramopoulos told a news conference, adding “There are no more excuses for the member states not to deliver” on their duties.

At the peak of refugee influx to Europe, the EU members agreed in September 2015 to share some 160,000 asylum seekers who had arrived in Greece and Italy. The scheme faced resistance from the very beginning, with states especially in Eastern Europe complaining that taking in refugees would expose them to serious security and economic risks.

Avramopoulos said, however, that member states should have no difficulty in relocating all those stranded in Greece and Italy by the set target.

“It is possible and feasible to relocate all those who are eligible from Italy and Greece by September,” he said.

The EU’s executive commission said that so far only 3,936 have been relocated from Italy and 9,610 from Greece. It added that relocation accelerated in February when some 1,940 people were moved, but regretted that the pace was still well below expectations. Only Malta and Finland are now on track to meet their obligations in full, the EU commission said.

Avramopoulos said that responsibilities of the EU members to fulfill their pledges to accept refugees won’t end even by the end of September.

“It is as if you have an outstanding bill. You have to pay it,” he said.

The senior EU official also demanded that countries do better in returning home refugees and economic migrants who don’t qualify for asylum, adding that authorities could even make arrests “if there is a risk of absconding.”

SS