Juncker says EU to aid refugees, tighten border controls

Syrian refugees walk towards a crossing point at Greece's border with Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni, September 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

STRASBOURG - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday the EU executive would offer better protection for refugees but also improve its frontier defences and deport more illegal migrants.

In a written annual statement of priorities ahead of his State of the Union address to the European Parliament, he told lawmakers and EU governments that he would offer "a swift, determined and comprehensive response to the refugee crisis".

Listing the problem first among a list of his priorities, before the economy, Ukraine, climate change and a looming vote on Britain's membership of the bloc, he said the crisis was caused by "war, terror and instability in our neighbourhood".

He confirmed plans to ask member states to agree to an "emergency relocation mechanism" to spread asylum-seekers now crowding in to Italy, Greece and Hungary; a permanent mechanism for the same in future crises; and a common list of "safe countries of origins" whose citizens would be subject to fast-track deportations if they breached EU immigration laws.

Juncker, whose proposals face opposition among governments whose interior ministers will meet on Monday, also pledged to improve the management of the bloc's external frontiers, bolster its Frontex border agency and take "steps toward the creation of European coastguard and border guard systems".

He also proposed a "more effective approach to return" - addressing complaints that too many people not entitled to asylum enter the Union illegally and then remain there, often despite legal proceedings that conclude they should return home.

Juncker called for efforts to strengthen the EU's common asylum system and a scheduled review of the so-called Dublin system, among whose rules is that people must claim asylum only in the state where they first enter the EU, straining resources in frontline countries in the south and east.

Answering criticism from refugee and migration agencies, he said the EU would "develop safe legal avenues for those in need of protection" - reducing the temptation to risk dangerous sea crossings and smuggling networks - as well as a permanent scheme to resettle refugees from other regions and better protection for refugees living in regions neighboring Europe.

He also renewed a proposal to review the system by which workers can apply to migrate to the EU, addressing concerns on an ageing continent that it needs to attract new people.

His speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg was due to start after 9 a.m. (0700 GMT).