In this edition, we break down the nail-biting vote on the EU migration pact, hear how press freedom in Slovakia is under threat and ask how Ursula von der Leyen is handling the so-called Piepergate scandal.
This week, we are joined by Jan-Christoph Oetjen, German MEP from Renew Europe, Damien Boeselager, German MEP from Volt and Laura Shields from Red Thread EU.
Our panel broke down the EU migration and asylum pact that got the green light from MEPs this week in Brussels. EU member states now need to rubber-stamp the deal – most likely by the end of this month.
The huge stack of EU legislation has been under discussion for years. It seeks to change a status quo under which countries like Italy, Greece and Malta face the massive burden of processing and integrating refugees and asylum seekers.
“I think this is not a step forward, but it’s a step back” that won’t help migrants or countries, said Damien Boeselager. “There’s no actual solidarity when it comes to helping each other as the European Union. We have to really wake up and become immigration societies in a way that is more positive and not let ourselves be driven by the far right.”
Jan-Christoph Oetjen has been working on migration for 15 years and says it is the most complicated file he has ever worked on.
“I stopped talking about migration on social media”, he told the panel due to toxic reactions to anything positive he wrote about finding a pan European solution.
Watch “Brussels, my love?” in the player above.
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