Federica Mogherini on Valletta: “Together is the key word of this summit”
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 i 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).
Learn more:
Background brief on the Valletta Summit
Background information on the five focus areas of the 2015 Valletta summit on migration
Valletta Summit - Official website
Fact sheet: The European Union's cooperation with Africa on migration (European Commission)
Special meeting of the European Council on the situation in the Mediterranean, 23 April 2015
Interactive map: Migration Crisis: What the European Union and its Member States do?
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