European Spring is fighting for a humane Europe. We must come together to formulate a pan-European system that guarantees legal and safe pathways, respects the fundamental rights, supports transition into European society, and fights the causes of involuntary migration at their origin.
We are calling for a Common European Asylum System (CEAS) that respects international and European law and guarantees newcomers’ fundamental rights. The CEAS must protect the right of ‘non-refoulement’, which prohibits states from returning newcomers to places in which they face irreparable harm, including persecution, torture, or other human rights violations.
We believe that Europe should welcome newcomers — not push them away. That’s why we will introduce safe, legal, and open pathways to Europe.
We believe that family reunification is a fundamental right and a benefit that is enjoyed not only by migrants, but also by society as a whole. We will radically expand the eligibility for family reunification inside and outside the EU.
The EU and its member states currently collaborate with countries like Turkey, Sudan and Libya to reduce the flow of migration to Europe. The result is serious human rights violations, including detention, torture, and sexual violence. These conditions only encourage migrants to take more dangerous routes to Europe, with many lives lost along the way.
We are calling for the termination of all such deals, including the EU-Turkey deal, agreements with Libyan authorities, and funding for migration control in Sudan, among others.
In their place, we will increase cooperation and funding of international organisations working with refugees (UNHCR) and migrants (IOM), and we will support civil society organisations working with refugees, migrants, and potential migrants in their countries of origin and countries of transit.
Cooperation with countries of origin and countries of transit should only be allowed if they not only respect human rights — including their right to leave — but also monitor them and implement measures to address existing cases of rights abuse case.
We are calling for the establishment of a European Search and Rescue Operation (ESRO) geared at saving people in distress at sea and bringing them to a place of safety — as required by international maritime law. While patrolling Europe’s external borders, the European Borderand Coast Guard Agency — also known as ‘Frontex’ — has not prevented the deaths of migrants traveling sea routes to Europe. By establishing an ESRO, we are committing to zero deaths at sea.
Solidarity with newcomers is not a crime. We will fight to enshrine pan-European protections for all citizens and civil society organisations that support newcomers to find shelter, employment, and a decent life in Europe.
We will fight to include all newcomers in EU politics in their places of residence. We believe that the right to vote is a crucial step towards participation, self-determination and integration in healthy democracies.
We will fight for all newcomers to enjoy full EU voting rights after meeting basic criteria, such as a minimum period of residency. Moreover, we will lobby for programmes through which EU member states agree to grant this right in national elections and referenda.
We believe that integration is a common obligation to support newcomers and a common opportunity to enrich European society. We will increase funding in the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in order to guarantee access to education and language training.
We will also increase funding to local integration schemes that foster exchange and offer training for newcomers.
We believe that all migrant workers should be entitled to the same rights, benefits, and protections as European citizens. It is not migrants who lower wages, but a system that keeps them illegal, unskilled and underthreat of deportation. We will fight exploitation by creating a special body to investigate wages and working conditions in migrant communities.
The freedom of movement is a fundamental human right — and a cornerstone of the European Union. We will defend free movement by demanding the immediate elimination of all border controls within the Schengen area.
In the long-term, we aim to extend the freedom of movement to countries beyond the European Union, providing even greater freedom to the people of the world to travel freely and choose their place of residence. In order to participate in that regime, countries would have to meet certain standards concerning the border regime, economic development, human rights, and rule of law.
Please find all our policies as PDF here.