EU and African leaders are gathered in Malta for
the Valletta Summit on migration between 11-12 November.
The international summit, which was called in
April 2015 by the European Council, will address the challenges but also the
opportunities of migration. It will also recognise that migration is a shared
responsibility of countries of origin, transit and destination.
In her remarks ahead of the summit, the EU High
Representative stressed the importance to tackle the issue together:
"Migration and management of the refugee flows is a challenge both for the
European Union and Africa" she said. "The only way of managing this
phenomenon is by doing this together, building cooperation and building common
instruments."
Addressing the Trust Fund which is due to be
launched in Valletta, Federica Mogherini stressed that it is not only about
money but about building opportunities for people, protecting people's lives,
fighting against criminal networks that exploit people's desperation and doing
this together. "We will have a Common Statement; we will also have a
Common Action Plan with concrete steps to be implemented over the next year,
monitored and done together" she stated.
Building on existing cooperation processes
between Europe and Africa, particularly the Rabat and Khartoum processes on
migration, and the EU-Africa Dialogue on Migration and Mobility, the conference
will focus on five areas:
Addressing the root causes by working to help
create peace, stability and economic development
Improving work on promoting and organising legal
migration channels
Enhancing the protection of migrants and asylum
seekers, particularly vulnerable groups
Tackling more effectively the exploitation and
trafficking of migrants
Working more closely to improve cooperation on
return and readmission
Interview: Federica Mogherini (EU foreign policy chief): “We need to
build opportunities, not walls, with Africa" – published in “Afronline – The Voice of
Africa” (11 November 2015).
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