- Britain and Ireland have been told they cannot send asylum seekers back to Greece because of the country's inadequate asylum arrangements.

We must set up common asylum arrangements so that we can manage migratory flows in the most effective and fairest way possible, both for immigrants and for the host societies.

The Commission communication, which recommends introducing the so-called open method of coordination as a staging post on the road to complete convergence of the Member States' asylum policies, denies to all intents and purposes the spirit of humanity which should underpin asylum arrangements.