Press Release: MEPs voice concerns over detention and reception conditions for asylum seekers

The European Parliament's plenary session held a debate on 16 December 2015 regarding asylum conditions across the European Union and the rights of asylum seekers.

MEPs defended that no-one should ever be detained for the sole reason of being an asylum seeker, and considered the act of applying for asylum a basic human right. Detention should therefore be used as a measure of last resort.

Several speakers also criticised statements from European Council president Donald Tusk about detaining migrants for up to 18 months in order to 'screen' them.

• Primary Source

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

ESO: Background information: Revised rules for treatment of asylum-seekers http://www.europeansources.info/record/revised-rules-for-treatment-of-asylum-seekers/

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