Pekka Haavisto calls for harmonised EU refugee policy

“Somali refugees should be helped on the spot”

Pekka Haavisto

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Finnish Green League MP Pekka Haavisto, who has been named the special representative of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in crises in Africa, hopes that the European Union would harmonise its policy on asylum for refugees.
      “If I were to fix the present system, I would develop the EU’s joint refugee procedures. The system should be that an asylum application would be submitted to the first safe country where a person arrives, whereas now some will travel through Europe all the way to Finland for the purpose.”
     
In an interview published on Friday in the weekly news magazine Suomen Kuvalehti, Haavisto said that the best solution for refugees from Somalia would be to help them in camps where they are. He also supports the idea that asylum seekers would be required to have a passport with biometric identification.
      Haavisto says that news spreads fast among those seeking to enter Europe on which countries are worth trying to reach, and what reasons should be used.
     
The Finnish Immigration Service is currently overwhelmed by applications from Somalis for family unification. He has suspicions about the sudden surge in applications for foster children.
      “One could draw the conclusion that a route has been found which has been successful for some, and which others will try. This is normal as such.”
     
If helping people on the spot is not possible, Haavisto would favour quota refugees approved by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
      “They have usually been at camps for years, and their backgrounds have been checked.”
     
The uneven practice with respect to refugees is also reflected in internal traffic within the EU. Haavisto says that he has asked Roma beggars why they have come to Finland.
      “They said that the best countries are Spain, France, and Finland, of which Finland is the most peaceful. In Sweden and Denmark they can be removed on the basis of the legislation in those countries.”


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Parliament taking hard line on Roma asylum applications (7.6.2010)
  Parliament wants report on benefits for immigrants and asylum seekers (14.5.2010)
  Africa envoy, MP Pekka Haavisto, does not expect quick peace in Somalia (5.2.2009)

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