To the presidents of democratic political groups in the European Parliament:
The Bureau of the AED, meeting in Naples on the 9th and 10th October 2015, has taken note of the establishment, particularly in Italy and Greece, by the Council of the European Union of so called “hot spots”, destined to sort out in a basic manner between refugees and migrants, and then to transfer the first to different countries of the European Union, while abandoning the rest to their fate. The AED has furthermore come to know that the European authorities have decided to move from simply monitoring the borders to stopping ships if necessary by force with the risk to the lives of migrants qualified as “collateral damage ”
Faced with this direct attack on the right asylum but also simply to the right to life, the Bureau of the AED denounces this inadequate response to the plight of migrants at the borders of Europe. The AED recalls its total opposition to the detention of migrants. The Bureau cannot accept that in the name of solving a serious humanitarian crisis, human beings are treated as merchandise and joggled around European countries, in the name of refugee quota plan.
Finally, the Bureau recalls that the AED is an organization of lawyers and although we cannot endorse the political undermining of the international protection of migrants, we will present everywhere to defend those in danger.
Naples, 10th of October 2015