“Europe’s response to refugee crisis is shameful” says Ana Miranda

In a recent debate on the refugee crisis, former Member of the European Parliament for BNG and Vice-President of the European Free Alliance, Ana Miranda condemned the current European reaction to the influx of refugees fleeing war in Syria and the Middle East.

“We are Idomeni, we are Calais, we are all the refugee camps that exist today in Europe,” states Miranda, who has been involved in many humanitarian assistance missions to these camps. She has seen the tragedy of those trying to find a better future in Europe first-hand, yet she claims this tragedy “neglected by the European Union […] could be solved if there was political will”. “Criminalising migrants is unfair,” she adds, “if they come, it is because their lives were threatened.”

Miranda demands that the EU to grant refugees safe passage and to review the EU-Turkey deal to manage the inflow of displaced persons and migrants. “The current agreement is shameful and we want to be live in a shameless Europe,” she concluded.

The debate was organised jointly by Fundación Galiza Sempre and Centre Maurits Coppieters to spark the debate on multilevel economic governance, alternative models, new forms of political participation and the refugee crisis in Europe.