Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of any proposals by the EU to prosecute charities and volunteers who give assistance to migrants arriving in Greece, and what assessment they have made of which articles of the EU treaties might provide authority for any such action.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is not aware of any specific proposals by the EU to prosecute charities and volunteers who give assistance to migrants arriving in Greece. The European Commission is currently conducting public consultations as part of an on-going evaluation and impact assessment of the EU legislation on migrant smuggling, to gather views on what improvements could be made. We will consider any proposals if and when they are issued.