EU moves first group of refugees to Sweden

Source: Lisa De Bode – Al Jazeera, 08/10/2015

The European Union (EU) is set to relocate its first group of refugees
from a camp in Italy to Sweden on Friday, a modest first step in the
implementation of a refugee quota system that will move people from
overcrowded camps in Italy and Greece to states across the EU.


On Friday, the EU's migration and home affairs Commissioner Dimitris
Avramopoulos and Luxembourg's minister for foreign affairs Jean
Asselborn will meet with a group of refugees at Rome`s Ciampino`s
airport ahead of their departure to Sweden, where 20 Eritrean asylum
seekers volunteered to be moved as part of the EU`s quota system
announced last month.


"This is a historic day for Europe," Avramopoulos said in a statement
on Thursday. "It is a great expression of European solidarity, both
with those in need of protection, and between our own Member States."
It is unclear how many refugees will be moved in the coming weeks. In
July, Sweden committed to taking in 821 from Italy and 548 from Greece
as part of a first total of 40,000 people from Eritrea, Iraq and Syria
to be redistributed across the EU in the next two years.


In September, the bloc announced that another 120,000 refugees would
be moved. Citing outreach efforts to the Eritrean community "to build
trust and encourage participation," Avramopoulos said in a statement
that he expects to see an increase in the number of relocations "in
the coming weeks."


Friday's planned relocation is the result of months of emergency
meetings in response to the biggest refugee crisis Europe has seen
since World War II. About 558,000 people have entered the EU, and
nearly 3,000 have died crossing the Mediterranean this year, according
to the International Organization for Migration.


The refugee quota system has been controversial, with Europe divided
over how to tackle the arrival of thousands of people fleeing conflict
in Eritrea, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. The U.K. and eastern European
member countries, most notably Hungary, have so far refused to
collaborate on a continent-wide effort to resettle refugees.


Susan Fratzke, policy analyst with the Washington-based Migration
Policy Institute's international center, said Friday's move is a
promising first step. "It's, of course, a good sign, but there are a
lot of questions that still need to be answered about how this could
work on a large scale," she said.


Noting that so far only Sweden and Luxemburg — attractive, wealthy
destination countries for refugees — are actively resettling people
according to the scheme, she questioned the viability of a quota
system reliant on volunteers.


"The real question is, will you be able to relocate refugees to
countries where they don`t want to go?" she said. "We already know
that most people are looking to claim asylum in Sweden, Germany and
northern Europe more broadly; it may be difficult to relocate [them]
to countries in eastern Europe or elsewhere."


Another issue is that of eligibility. "What will happen to those who
aren't Eritrean or Syrian and aren`t qualified for relocation?" she added
Opposition from member countries to the quota system has grown since a
majority of 28 states reluctantly accepted to adopt the scheme in
September, starting with the decision to resettle a first 40,000
refugees. The promise to relocate another 120,000 still awaits
adoption by the EU's Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council
while some member countries have already indicated they won't comply
with its decision.


Avramopoulos, thanking Luxemburg and Sweden on Thursday for their
adoption of the relocation scheme, said he was hopeful that other
countries would follow their example. "We are sure that the other
Member States will soon be ready to play their part," he said in
today's statement.


Under the scheme, member countries receive a stipend of $6,770 per
refugee to cover the costs of resettlement. Countries where refugees
are departing from will get $564 to pay for transportation costs from
places such as Lampedusa, an island off the Italian coast where
thousands of people are smuggled on rubber dinghies from Libya. On
Friday, Avramopoulos will visit the island's designated "hotspot" —
areas where EU support teams help local authorities process asylum
applications.