A number of European Justice & Peace Commissions had felt the need to look critically at the responses of our governments to the "refugee crisis" in the light of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and to try to formulate an alternative response that would have at its centre the human dignity of each person.

Athens had seemed a good place for us to meet, because the realities of the refugee experience and the impacts of European policy were unavoidable there, as was the evidence of the many kindnesses of ordinary Greeks towards their fellow human beings. Our group comprised representatives both of countries that were the starting point in Europe of the refugees' long journeys to safety (Greece, Malta, Spain) and countries that were their desired ending (Sweden, Netherlands, even Scotland).

We talked and brainstormed, as well as going out and seeing and hearing for ourselves what was happening.  Then we left our brilliant Dutch colleagues to make sense of it all and turn it into a first report. That was how we came to be sitting in a meeting room in Brussels, waiting to meet Kati Piri MEP of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats block, and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Civil Liberties Committee of the Parliament, to present the report in the context of an expert meeting.

Kati herself is the daughter of a Hungarian refugee and therefore feels a personal interest in the current refugee situation that she described as a shame on Europe.  She listened as Hamada, a Syrian refugee, told of her difficult journey to safety in Holland, our Greek colleague Nikos spoke of the realities of the situation in Greece, and journalist Tina Danckaers described the problems being    experienced in Turkey by refugees.

We also heard from academic Dr Samuel Cogolati, Sophie Scholten of the Dutch police and Samuel Simon of the IOM, who touched on aspects of European refugee and migration policy and in particular on the recent deal with Turkey, and possible alternatives.

Dutch colleague Sebastian completed the presentations by summarising the issues from our point of view: 

• Europe needs to arrange safer passage for refugees seeking to exercise their rights to claim asylum. 
• The agreement with Turkey is unacceptable as a solution to be used elsewhere, because of the human rights issues which it has raised. 
• We need the countries of Europe to face up to their responsibilities and to share the burdens.

Kati listened courteously and intently.  She did try to defend the arrangements with Turkey, pointing out that things were improving there but we felt that she was taking on board the concerns about human rights violations and the suggestions of alternative actions.  Time will tell and we will be keeping a watching brief.