EU leaders agree actions to tackle Mediterranean tragedy
EU leaders held a special meeting on the situation in the Mediterranean and committed to step up both resources and financing to stem the dramatic loss of life.
President Juncker and President Tusk during the post-Council press conference
EU leaders held a special meeting to tackle the crisis in the Mediterranean. Leaders agreed to mobilise all efforts at their disposal to prevent further loss of life at sea and to tackle the root causes of the human emergency that we face, in cooperation with the countries of origin and transit. Our immediate priority is to prevent more people from dying at sea.
After discussions on the situation in the Mediterranean they agreed four priority areas for action: to strengthen the EU's presence at sea, to fight the traffickers, to prevent illegal migration flows and to reinforce internal solidarity and responsibility. Given that instability in Libya creates an ideal environment for the criminal activities of traffickers, the EU will actively support all UN-led efforts towards re-establishing government authority in Libya and also step up efforts to address conflict and stability as key push factors of migration, including in Syria.
European Council President Donald Tusk i welcomed leaders' commitments to these four areas: "We are facing a difficult summer and we need to be ready to act." European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker i also welcomed the meeting's outcome and leaders' agreement to reinforce EU search and rescue possibilities.
Member States agree to bolster EU Operations Triton and Poseidon by at least tripling the financial resources for this purpose in 2015 and 2016 and reinforcing the number of assets, increasing the search and rescue possibilities within the mandate of FRONTEX. The President clarified at a press conference after the meeting that the Triton legal texts allow for search and rescue operations in international waters in case of catastrophes.
The President also said that the Commission would now continue its reflection on quotas, a point mentioned by the Commission but not included in the closing statement.
"The Conclusions will allow us to make proposals about legal immigration because, contrary to what is being thought, the problems we face will not be met with solutions if we deal only with illegal immigration. Legal immigration is part of a package that will allow us to have a more complete approach to the issue."
The Commission will put forward its European Agenda on Migration on the 13th of May.