Euro-African partnership on migration in sight

Vanya Walker-Leigh interviews Foreign Minister Michael Frendo on this week's two-day conference on migration and development in Tripoli

This week's European Union-African Union ministerial conference in Tripoli on migration and development is a critical milestone," Foreign Minister Michael Frendo told The Sunday Times.

In an exclusive interview shortly before leaving for Libya, Dr Frendo said that Malta had consistently pressed for this conference to take place - although its definitive date was only fixed a few weeks ago.

"The idea for this conference was first set out in a joint request submitted by Libya and Malta to the 5+5 meeting of Mediterranean foreign ministers in Malta in June 2005," Dr Frendo explained. "While the ministerial conference hosted by Morocco in Rabat in July focused mainly on the migration routes through West Africa, Malta continued to insist that its final declaration should be open to support from East African nations which had not been invited. We also pressed for the speedy organisation of the proposed EU-AU conference in Libya.

"Last month, Malta hosted the Tripoli conference's intensive preparatory meeting which produced a draft ministerial declaration. This will serve as a good basis for discussion in Tripoli. Portugal, the site of next year's second Europe-Africa summit, was also represented.

"The holding of this conference at an 'inter-institutional' level' is extremely important since it will result in a groundbreaking joint EU-AU declaration laying the basis for a solid long-term Euro-African partnership on migration including all source, transit and receiving countries and focusing holistically on the many issues involved. A mechanism will be set up to monitor progress on the conference decisions."

Preceded by a one-day meeting of senior officials on Tuesday, the conference will cover migration and its interrelated aspects of development; peace, security and stability; human rights; human resources (brain drain); the fight against illegal immigration and trafficking of human beings.

"Malta welcomes the Common Position on Migration and Development adopted by African Union ministers in Banjul in July," Dr Frendo continued. "I find it very positive that African nations are now seeing the problem in terms of security, the fight against terrorism and criminality as well as of the 'brain drain' from their continent. However, we hope that a number of ideas it does not address regarding resettlement and assisted repatriation of illegal immigrants can also emerge from the Tripoli conference.

"On its part, the EU must address its long-term requirements for additional workers and develop adequate procedures for legal immigration of persons with needed skills.

"We must also find ways of helping repatriated illegal immigrants set up their own business in their own country - so they become well off at home rather than remaining poor in Europe. My ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs are jointly designing a series of projects for voluntary repatriation and re-integration of illegal immigrants at present in Malta".

According to Dr Frendo, Malta's 'extreme and initially isolated position' of recent months urging that aid to African states be made fully conditional on their implementation of Article 13 of the Cotonou Agreement (2000) between the EU and 64 Asian, African and Caribbean nations - which provides for readmission by their home countries of illegal immigrants - has had an impact. Article 13 states that 'each of the ACP States shall accept the return of and readmission of any of its nationals who are illegally present on the territory of a Member State of the European Union, at that member state's request and without further formalities'.

While only some EU states supported Malta's approach, the issue was now high on the EU agenda, and the European Commissioner for Development, Louis Michel had been insisting on respect of the Article during a recent trip to some African states.

"In fact, we are now moving away from conditionality to 'incentivisation'," the minister continued. "There is increased awareness among EU member states that ACP countries already implementing Article 13 should be rewarded."

In a visit on October 31 to the UN High Commissioner of Refugees, Antonio Guterres, at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Dr Frendo discussed ways in which the organisation could help with resettlement in third countries of illegal immigrants at present in Malta who had received humanitarian status. "My idea is that if, for example, this or that EU state has a quota for Somalis, Eritreans, etc., with this status, Somalis from Malta could be resettled there."

Malta and Libya have initialised a text relating to repatriation of illegal immigrants from Libya, he indicated, but negotiations are not yet completed. "I am sure this agreement will make Libya a less attractive country of transit, and thus prove to be a valuable contribution to solving Libya's problem with illegal immigrants.

"The maritime patrols recently organised for a two-week period in the central Mediterranean by the EU Frontex agency were successful in terms of the psychology of the fight against illegal immigration," Dr Frendo emphasised. "It is important to send a strong message to traffickers about this area, and the patrols must continue next year."