Migrant management must be humane and dignified - EU

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 23 - The long-standing position of the European Commission is that migration should be managed in a humane and dignified way, said EU Commission spokeswoman on home affairs, migration and internal security, Anitta Hipper, on Saturday.
    "We do not comment on statements," she told ANSA in response to a question on the Pope's call in Marseille for a more human-oriented approach to the issue of migrants and refugees arriving by sea in Europe.
    Hipper said this position is "why in September 2020 the Commission presented the new pact on migration and asylum as a sustainable long-term solution".
    In early June EU interior ministers reached a consensus on the new draft EU Pact on Migration and Asylum aiming to re-establish the principles of solidarity and responsibility sharing among member states for migrants and refugees arriving by sea and land in the European Union.
    However, Poland and Hungary subsequently blocked the agreement at the European Council later the same month, arguing that solidarity in the management of migrants and refugees should not be made obligatory as requested by front-line countries such as Italy and Greece.
    Once negotiations are complete, the Pact must be examined and approved by the European Council and European parliament.
    (ANSA).