PM: EU has to be proactive on migration
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his fellow leaders of the so-called MED9 alliance Thursday that the EU must actively approach the countries at the origin of migrant flows and develop common strategies, and not wait for a migrant crisis to break out.
The nine EU states of the south (Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) that met in Malta’s capital Valletta said the European Union must enhance surveillance operations to prevent departures for Europe and dismantle human trafficking networks.
Mitsotakis mentioned Greece’s active deterrence policy at both its land and sea borders, noting that the country expends considerable effort and resources to implement its policy.
EU countries “need to determine on our own terms who enters” the 27-nation bloc, Mitsotakis said.
“This is about us… exercising what is a right that we can simply not outsource to smugglers,” he said. “Currently it is the smugglers who decide who gets to enter the European Union and this must change.”
While EU members should provide organized legal migration pathways, they should also focus on repatriating those not entitled to asylum, the Greek prime minister said. He repeated that Turkey must accept deported migrants, adding that the EU could do its part to press the case.
Mitsotakis had a separate meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he also discussed the agenda of the EU Council to be held on October 5-6 in Granada, Spain. The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations, such as defense cooperation, and Mitsotakis thanked Macron for France’s help in fighting the summer wildfires. Macron and Mitsotakis exchanged views on cooperating on forecasting technology for extreme weather phenomena; Mitsotakis repeated views he expressed in a letter to MED9 leaders that the EU must do more to face natural disasters and adapt to climate crisis conditions.
[Kathimerini/AP]
