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A survey by Brussels-based think-tank Friends of Europe revealed on Friday that majority of European citizens believe the 28-member bloc “will remain irrelevant" for them without reforms.
According to the survey, which was conducted as part of its #EuropeMatters project, 64 percent of Europeans are not convinced their life would be worse without the EU, while 49 percent of the citizens think the EU is irrelevant.
"More than one third of Europeans want more transparency when it comes to how the EU is spending money," the survey noted.
Underscoring that the Europeans "want to have a bigger say", the survey revealed that Europeans are divided on the primary role of the bloc as “40 percent of citizens in Visegrad and Southern European countries think the EU's main focus should be to improve economic growth."
"32 percent of Nordics, 36 percent of the French and 37 percent of the Germans want the EU to promote values and democracy across Europe," it added.
A European Union committee on Wednesday proposed to issue “humanitarian visas” to promote regular migration and prevent deaths on migration routes to the EU countries.“EU countries should be able to issue humanitarian visas at embassies and consulates abroad, so people seeking protection can access Europe without risking their life,” said the European Parliament in a statement after a meeting of the Civil Liberties Committee.The committee agreed to ask the European Commission to submit by March 31, 2019, a legislative proposal for the visa.“Despite numerous announcements and requests for safe and legal pathways for asylum-seekers into Europe, the EU lacks a harmonized framework of protected entry procedures,” the statement added. Austria has concerns about UN migration pact, might back outAround 90 percent people granted international protection reached the EU countries through irregular means, the European Parliament said.Each applicant should go through a security screening before the visa is issued, it was proposed.Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said: “The vote today is a limited step, but nonetheless a very important political signal to the EU Commission.“We need to do more to help those human beings in need, as there are currently clearly not enough legal and safe pathways to the EU for those seeking international protection,” Aguilar added.If the proposal is adopted by the full house in the November plenary session, the commission will have to give a reasoned reply to the parliament’s request, the statement added.
EU committee proposes ‘humanitarian visas’ for migrants