European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday expressed his deepest sorrow “on behalf of Europeans” for the lives lost at sea in the recent tragic events, saying he was in Malta to honour their memory but also to give a strong message that Europe will act.

He said the way forward in dealing with the migration crisis was to strengthen security while averting further tragedies. He was speaking ahead of a European leaders’ meeting yesterday, in which proposals for addressing the situation were discussed.

Mr Avramopoulos was flanked by ministers from Malta, Italy and Greece in a show of strength from frontline member states who wanted to send out a message to European leaders that they had to move from rhetoric to effective action.

“We will not stand idle, but the effectiveness of any solutions agreed upon will depend on unity and solidarity,” Mr Avramopoulos said at the joint press conference.

Europe now says this tragedyis not Maltese, Italian or Greek.All Europeans expect solutions.Trafficking is a modern form of slavery. Smugglers are the macabre travel agency of the world

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the scenes from the funeral yesterday morning were “a punch in the stomach of those who are indifferent”.

Mr Alfano said this was the second migrants’ funeral he had attended, that after the tragedy in Lampedusa having been the first.

“Europe now says this tragedy is not Maltese, Italian or Greek. All Europeans expect solutions. Trafficking is a modern form of slavery. Smugglers are the macabre travel agency of the world.”

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not address the media; he was replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, who appealed for a political decision to ensure such incidents would not be repeated.

“The ceremony this morning would have been in vain without concrete action. Too many lives have been lost,” Mr Grech said.

Greek Social Solidarity Minister Theano Fotiou said the Mediterranean should be a sea of solidarity and ‘not a grave’. She said Greece was prepared to make every effort to address the situation despite the country already facing a humanitarian and economic crisis.

Commissioner Avramopoulos thanked the Maltese government for its efforts.

Stressing action had to be taken immediately, Mr Avramopoulos said one concrete action was that Europe would be declaring war on people smugglers.

“We will not stand by while criminals violate human rights.

“We will destroy their capacity and arrest those responsible,” he said, adding that the EU had to work with third countries to achieve this aim.

Strengthening Frontex operations was also a priority in order to increase border security and save lives. In addition, solutions focused on increasing support to frontline member states, drying up the market for smugglers by offering alternative, legal routes to migration and incentives for the migrants’ voluntary return to their home countries.

“Flows will not disappear soon. The EU needs to move from emergency mode to long-term solutions by adopting a broader and more holistic approach to the problem,” Mr Avramopoulos said.

He added that the policy expected in May would provide long-term solutions.

The proposal to allow for the resettlement of some 5,000 refugees was also considered to be an important political response.

EU regulations, in the form of the Dublin Convention, establish the principle that only one member state is responsible for examining an asylum application.

The objective is to avoid asylum seekers being sent from one country to another and also to prevent abuse of the system by the submission of several applications for asylum by one person. Yet it means frontline countries bear the burden of the flows of asylum seekers.

“This is an important political move. It’s a door opening on the restrictions of the Dublin Convention. This is the first time a concrete signal is being given,” Mr Alfano said.

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