http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2016/10/18/mogherini-hails-italy-led-migrant-compact_a86122ab-273e-4957-8f89-58549a6a9159.html
Mogherini hails Italy-led migrant compact
Rules are rules, says on relocations
19 OCTOBER 2016
(by Denis Greenan)
ROME - European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Defence Policy Federica Mogherini on Tuesday hailed the EU's budding Italy-led migrant compact as starting to effect real change in flows from African countries through Libya and on to Italy and said the pact could be extended as far afield as Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Mogherini also said rules must be respected on the relocation of migrants within the EU according to mandated and agreed quotas.
The EU has achieved more in the last four months than in the last few years with its Italy-inspired Migration Compact being offered to African countries of migrant origin and transit, Mogherini said.
"The first results are staring to come in the field," she said, commenting on the first report on deals made so far with Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Senegal.
At the Niger city of Agadez, she noted, a gathering point for migrants heading for Libya, fewer migrants are leaving and more returning voluntarily to their home countries because of a series of moves including the dismantling of smuggling networks and assistance to people blocked there.
"Repatriations and identifications are extremely important and part of the Compact but it would be a mistake if the focus was only on repatriations and readmissions," Mogherini went on to say. She stressed that each accord was "tailor-made" according to the context and situation of each individual country. Mogherini added that the EU was not working on a 'migration compact' with Egypt but that this did "not mean that we are not working with Egypt on migration".
A 'migration compact' Italy proposed earlier this year to the European Commission and the European Council to cut migrant flows envisages a framework accord with countries of origin and transit and financial commitments.
She added that dialogue on the migration issue was in any case underway with the Egyptian government as part of the Khartoum Process.
The Khartoum Process focuses on the route between the Horn of Africa and the European Union (EU) and is a high level, inter-continental political process that harmonizes existing African Union (AU) and EU-led components.
The aim, Mogherini noted, is to develop new 'compacts' with other countries in addition to the five brought in over the summer. "There are other countries of origin and transit where we do not have a 'compacts' yet with, but the work is continuing and we hope to achieve them in the future," she said, citing Pakistan and Bangladesh as possibilities.
The European Commission will act against countries who have so far resisted attempts to get them to accept migrants by way of relocation quotas, Mogherini went on.
"Rules are rules, in all the different fields," she said when asked about the issue.
"In this case," she added, "they are not only rules which the Commission has proposed but also ones which the very member States have themselves adopted".
Therefore, she said, "consistency" was required by all EU members. Mogherini went on to voice the hope that the success of EU foreign policy over migration issues "may be mirrored also in the internal side of migration policies".
The high representative noted that, in this area, Migration and Internal Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans were in charge of enacting policy.
Received on Wed Oct 19 2016 - 06:34:32 EDT