EU announces assistance to Italy and Malta over mass influx of migrants

EU announces assistance to Italy and Malta over mass influx of migrants

2011-04-12 23:07:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

LUXEMBOURG (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced an agreement to provide assistance to Italy and Malta over the mass influx of North African migrants.

After a lengthy debate, the Council of interior ministers reached an agreement to provide the necessary support as well as accelerating negotiations on amending the FRONTEX regulation to expand its powers.

On February 20, the EU's Frontex launched a mission, the Joint Operation EPN Hermes Extension 2011, to assist the Italian authorities in managing the influx of migrants from North Africa.

The EU's Home Affairs Council called on Member States to continue providing assistance to both Italy and Malta as genuine and concrete solidarity is needed to address the migrant issues.

The Council also called on FRONTEX to continue monitoring the situation, preparing detailed risk analyses and accelerating negotiations with the North African nations involved, mainly with Tunisia.

"These conclusions define the short-term tasks, naturally, they do not permanently resolve the issue, we must take long-term actions in the region," said Hungarian Home Affairs Minister Sándor Pintér.

Pintér added that the Council will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on May 12 in order to discuss the long-term issues such as a sustainable strategy to address international protection, migration, mobility and security in general.

Italian Minister of Home Affairs Roberto Maroni said that his country accepted the conclusions but voiced their dissatisfaction to the Council. Pintér said that Italy did not announce any intentions to leave the EU.

Maroni, during the discussions, complained once again about the lack of European solidarity for Italy. Under the agreement reached on Tuesday, Italy will be allowed to grant a six-month visa for the Tunisian refugees who arrived before April 4.

The temporary passport will entitle its holders for free movement in the entire territory of the EU. In return, Tunisia will readmit all refugees who arrived past April 4. Since February, more than 26,000 migrants have arrived to the Italian Lampedusa island, most of them coming from the Tunisian ports of Zarzis, Djerba and Sfax.

On Wednesday, Italy and Tunisia reached an agreement on illegal immigration that includes the repatriation of migrants. Italy offered a credit-and-aid package worth some 250 million Euros ($354 million) to help the Tunisian government with the migrant crisis.

In regards to Malta, Pintér said that the African migration situation "is the most dangerous compared to the size of population." Germany, Slovakia and other nations will admit migrants to significantly facilitate the handling of migration in the future.

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