EP approves Kyenge refugee resolution

(ANSA) - Strasbourg, April 12 - The European Parliament on Tuesday approved a non-binding resolution co-authored by Italian Democratic Party MEP and former integration minister Cécile Kyenge and Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola of the European People's Party (EPP) calling for a centralized European political asylum system, a binding resettlement policy, and humanitarian corridors so refugees fleeing war zones in Africa and the Middle East can have safe, legal passage into Europe without resorting to human smugglers at the risk of their lives. The motion passed with 459 in favor, 206 against, and 52 abstaining. The resolution proposes establishing a central system for collecting and allocating asylum applications that would work on the basis of hotspots from which to distribute refugees according to quotas for each EU member state. The European Commission is currently considering a revision of the Dublin III Regulation (which determines which member state is responsible for processing which asylum application) and has pledged to present a legislative proposal before the summer.