MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The majority of the European Union’s nationals — 58 percent — think that the bloc is mismanaging the migration crisis in Europe, while most of the citizens believe that Brussels could improve its approach to handling the issue, the European Parliament said Thursday, citing a Eurobarometer poll.
“Since 2015 the EU has taken several measures to manage the migration crisis as well as to improve the asylum system. According to the latest Eurobarometer poll, 73 percent of Europeans still want the EU to do more to manage the situation. However, 58 percent of respondents think the EU’s actions regarding migration are inadequate, eight percentage points less than last year,” the EU parliament said.
The parliament added that the bloc is undertaking several measures to improve the situation, such as the plans to implement the standards of accommodation of asylum seekers and the reform of the Dublin system, which is aimed at creating the so-called fairness mechanism, meaning that if a country is facing a disproportionate number of asylum applications, the overage will automatically be redistributed to the other member states.
The European Union also took measures aimed at decreasing the number of migrants and refugees arriving in the bloc. In March 2016, Turkey and the European Union agreed upon a deal, under which Ankara pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in EU states through its territory in exchange for the accommodation of Syrian refugees on a one-for-one basis in Turkey and major concessions on membership and visas. The deal, however, has been strained by bloc’s suspension of talks on Turkey’s bid for EU membership.
