137 / 150
RECOMMENDATIONS
137
– The EU should design a plan to welcome refugees and asylum seek-
ers that shares them fairly between all member states. This plan
should further standardize the criteria for granting refugee and asy-
lum status.
– The EU should promote immigration agreements with countries of
origin to help ensure the future of pensions in Europe. These agree-
ments should include clauses to prevent the economic and profes-
sional outflows from developing countries.
9. Peace and stability in Eastern Europe
– Solution of the conflict in the Ukraine depends on strict observance
of the Minsk II accords by all parties, including both military and
political aspects. The monitoring mission of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe in the Donbass region should
be provided with the means, the authority and the freedom of
movement needed to effectively conduct its verification duties.
– Sanctions against Russia should gradually be reduced if the succes-
sive phases of the Minsk II accord are observed by Moscow.
Sanctions would be increased or extended if the peace process fails
as a result of Moscow’s actions.
– When the Ukraine crisis has been resolved, the EU should seek to
relaunch economic and political relations with Russia, with the aim
of reaching an ambitious, long-term strategic association agree-
ment, which could lead to the establishment of a free trade area
and include security issues. It should also provide a framework for
guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the coun-
tries of the Eastern Association, and the resolution of frozen con-
flicts that threaten the stability of the region and of the whole con-
tinent.
– Within the framework of these agreements, and based on respect for
Ukraine’s sovereignty, the EU should support the adoption in this
country of a federal system that would recognize its ethnic diversity
and its neutrality with respect to military alliances in order to defuse
tension now and in the future. In addition, the Ukraine must be pro-
vided with economic support in coordination with the International
Monetary Fund, to enable it to overcome its economic crisis, subject
to a programme of administrative and political reform.
10.The threat of radical jihadism from the Sahel to the Middle East
– While using all available defence and security measures to combat
this phenomenon, it is also essential to take a preventive approach,