Tuesday

3rd Oct 2023

Valletta leak backs legal migration and returns

  • Some 140,000 people landed in Italy after crossing the Mediterranean to seek asylum this year (Photo: iom.int)

Africa and EU leaders are set to sign off a plan next week that includes short-term measures on legal migration and returns.

The latest draft summit conclusions, dated Friday (6 November) and seen by this website, include policies around development, legal migration, asylum, migrant smuggling, and readmission.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The final conclusions will be issued following a summit next week in Malta’s capital city Valletta.

Some 90 delegations are attending the two-day meeting, including over 30 heads of state from Africa and most of the 28 EU member states.

“Rekindling hope, notably for the African youth, must be our paramount objective," notes the adjoining political statement.

African states are pushing for more legal migration to the EU. But the EU wants readmission agreements implemented and irregular migration curbed.

The broad declaration gives a nod to both.

On legal migration, it notes “efforts should be made to advance legal migration and mobility possibilities."

The summit conclusion lists two short-term legal migration projects that should be concluded before the end of 2016.

It says the number of scholarships to the EU should be doubled and also calls for the launch of pilot projects on legal migration.

On returns, the political statement gives a hard line.

“Irregular migrants who are not in need of international protection must be effectively returned to their countries of origin,” it states.

It notes “improved cooperation on return” will make in turn improve migration and mobility policy.

The plan is to send “in the first quarter of 2016” immigration officials from 10 African countries (not listed) to Europe to return people. It also says projects in origin countries should be launched to reintegrate them back into society.

Meanwhile, four short-term projects are listed under the development heading.

They include creating jobs in regions of origin and transit of migrants, linking relief, rehabilitation and development, working with remittances, and boosting African agriculture.

On asylum and international protection, it says Regional Development and Protection Programmes in the Horn of Africa and North Africa should be up and running by mid-2016.

The Horn of Africa programme, geared towards Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, is spearheaded by the Netherlands.

Some of the money will be taken from the European Commission’s directorate for home affairs. The Commission says the money will be used to register, process, and accommodate asylum seekers.

Another short-term project involves improving the “resilience, safety and self-reliance of refugees” in camps and host communities.

On migrant smuggling, the plan is to set up single national contact points and strengthen “institutional capacities to fight against the smuggling of migrants” in countries of origin and transit.

It also requests setting up a joint investigation team in Niger and launching an “information campaign” about the dangers of migrant smuggling.

Magazine

Unwanted exodus

The year when borders came back to Europe.

Opinion

If not Europe, who will help the refugees?

If the EU fails to respond effectively to the refugee crisis, damage to both Europe and international refugee protection will be irreparable.

EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making

Emily O'Reilly cited the post-pandemic recovery funds, the windfall taxes on energy companies, and the joint purchase of vaccines, as procedures which received limited scrutiny from the national parliaments — as a result of emergency decision-making powers that bypassed parliament.

Latest News

  1. The EU-Kenya free trade deal shows a waning 'Brussels effect'
  2. Hoekstra pledges to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies
  3. 10 years on from the Lampedusa shipwreck — what's changed?
  4. EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid
  5. Hoekstra faces tough questioning to be EU Green chief
  6. Frontex shared personal data of NGO staff with Europol six times
  7. Why EU Commission dumped Google's favourite consultant
  8. Slovak's 'illiberal' Fico victory boosts Orbán, but faces checks

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us