The southern Mediterranean countries of the European Union (EU) defended this Friday a deepening of the association with the African continent to reduce “the need” for risky migratory crossings and guarantee “sustainable management” of migrations, revealed the Portuguese Government .
“As explained here, in particular by the Prime Minister [italiana] Giorgia Meloni, the priority of priorities is to deepen our very special neighborly relationship with the African continent, to create conditions for peace, for the protection of human rights, for development, which ultimately reduce the need and impulse for take the greatest risks of putting your own life at risk to find a new opportunity for your life,” said the head of the Portuguese Government, António Costa.
In statements to the press after the Summit of the Southern Countries of the European Union (MED9), held this Friday in the Maltese capital, Valletta, and focused on the migration issue, António Costa maintained that “only in-depth work between “Europe and the African continent region will allow sustainable management of migratory flows.”
“Migration is a global phenomenon, but obviously, for reasons of neighbourhood, whether in the Balkan region or in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, most of the countries involved here are on the front line of receiving of immigrants,” he observed.
Even so, the Prime Minister stressed that “it is a challenge and today, fortunately, there is a growing convergence on the vision of how to address the phenomenon of migration.”
The MED9 meeting – in which, in addition to Portugal, heads of Government and State from Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, Italy, Slovenia and Spain – took place at a time of migratory pressure and on which Rome insists into a common and coherent agreement to better manage migration.
In the final declaration, the nine leaders call for “greater proximity” to the African continent to respond to the “challenge of irregular migration, [que] “remains a delicate and complex reality that requires a sustained European response.”
Furthermore, those responsible ask for progress in the negotiations on the migration pact, which was advanced on Thursday and which the co-legislators are negotiating, and for the “rapid application of the agreement between the EU and Tunisia.”
Migration was one of the main topics discussed at this Friday’s summit, with a view to cooperation with third countries, such as Tunisia.
The meeting comes after, in the middle of this month, more than 10,000 migrants arrived in just three days on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which once again highlighted the migration debate in the EU.
At the time, the European Commission announced an action plan to address irregular immigration in Lampedusa, which includes strengthening support for Italy, as well as implementing the memorandum of understanding signed between the EU and Tunisia.
Tunisia is one of the main departure points for irregular migrants to Europe via the eastern Mediterranean route and in July it signed a memorandum of understanding with the EU to combat migrant trafficking in exchange for funding for the country of at least 700 million euros in EU funds.
The Central Mediterranean route is used to reach the EU from North Africa to European territory, such as Malta and the Italian regions of Lampedusa, Calabria and Sicily.
With regular summits since 2016, the MED9 alliance brings together nine Member States that are part of the Mediterranean basin, the euro and the Schengen area (with the exception of Cyprus).
Source: TSF
