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Disappearance of #migrant children: ALDE demands clear commitment from EU Commission and member states

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missing migrantsUpon the request of the ALDE Group, the European parliament today (1 March) held a debate on the measures needed to tackle the disappearance of migrant children in Europe. According to Europol, at least 10,000 migrant and refugee children have gone missing after arriving in Europe. The ALDE Group urges the Commission to come forward with a European policy framework to strengthen protection systems for refugee and migrant children, especially for unaccompanied minors.


ALDE MEP Hilde Vautmans, author of the question to the European commission, said: "It is a shame that neither the Commission nor member states assume their responsibility for these vulnerable and young individuals."
“The European Commission must keep up its promise and introduce a strong action plan for all migrant children in order to prevent and react to their disappearance."
“Migrant children must be treated as children and receive the same care and protection as our own. This requires decent living conditions without detention, swift asylum and family reunification procedures, as well as systematic reporting of disappearances, and identification and efficient cooperation between the member states and all relevant actors."
“We all need to take our responsibility and step up the relocation of these children. If not, they will remain in the hands of smugglers."

Nathalie Griesbeck, ALDE LIBE coordinator, added: It has already been one year since EUROPOL announced the disappearance of 10,000 migrant children in Europe and yet, almost nothing has been done."

"Solutions do exist: national authorities must identify and register every single migrant child. They should also assign them a tutor to accompany them and provide them with quality receptions facilities."
“These are simple and feasible solutions. However, to put them in place we need political will that is currently incredibly lacking today. The reality is scandalous and shameful: member states are not willing to cooperate. They do not respect their commitments, they don’t respect European law and they don’t apply the relocation scheme. I strongly condemn, not the EU inaction, but members states’ paralysis and hypocrisy."

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