Gianni Pittella, the President of the Socialist and Democrat Party in the European Parliament, has called for the overhaul of the Dublin agreement on migration and replacing it with a truly European system.
 
He said:
 
"There is no way to patch over the shameful shortcomings we have seen in dealing with the migration crisis of the past few months. We need a complete overhaul of the Dublin agreement, replacing it with a real and effective common European policy based on solidarity."
 
"The farcical outcome of the EU Council in June undermined the efforts put in place by the Commission and contributed to the ill feeling growing in Europe - helping build walls rather than bridges between borders and people. Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande's call for front-line countries to immediately build new registration centres is understandable but only on the condition that the whole of Europe puts aside national selfishness and comes together to draw up a common mandatory system capable to deal with this humanitarian crisis in the short and mid-term."
 
"In the long run, the European Union should call for an international summit involving the main actors such as the UN, Turkey, Russia, and responsible North African countries to find a credible lasting solution."