It is not clear whether last week’s Valletta Summit on Migration will prove to be a turning point in the way irregular migration into Europe is tackled, but the meeting could turn out to be a good basis for further co-operation between the EU and Africa, which is so crucial if this issue is to be properly addressed.
Although EU summits have dealt with the migration crisis on a number of occasions, the Valletta meeting marked the first time that EU and African leaders met to specifically discuss the problem of irregular migration into Europe. The Valletta Summit, in fact, was held at a time when the flow of refugees and migrants into Europe has reached historic proportions with many policymakers in European capitals in a state of panic.
Sweden, the most generous of EU countries, when it comes to accepting refugees, has been forced to impose temporary border controls because it can no longer cope with the huge influx of migrants. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose response to the thousands of refugees entering her country has been exemplary, now faces serious divisions within her coalition over her migration policy.
Furthermore, Slovenia last week erected a razor wire fence along parts of its border with Croatia, saying it wanted better control over the tide of migrants entering the country, and Austria is now building a fence on a small stretch of its border with Slovenia. Throughout the EU, eurosceptic right-wing populist parties are gaining in popularity as a result in the migrant surge.
European Council President Donald Tusk did not mince his words at the end of the summit, saying that time was running out for the EU to save the Schengen agreement, which allows border-free travel in Europe. “Saving Schengen is a race against time and we are determined to win that race. Without effective control on our external borders, the Schengen rules will not survive,” Mr Tusk said in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
At the Valletta Summit the EU agreed to set up a Trust Fund worth €1.8 billion to help tackle the root causes of irregular migration in Africa which is without doubt an important step. The money will be spent on economic programmes to create jobs, on supporting health and education, improving migration management and supporting conflict prevention.
Some of the African leaders at the summit lamented that this sum was not enough; this might be the case, but it is certainly a good beginning. However, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s plea for the EU members to match this amount in individual contributions certainly fell on deaf ears: an additional €78 million was pledged by the various States (including €250,000 by Malta), which is nowhere near what Mr Juncker had requested.
Some African leaders lamented that this sum (€1.8bn) was not enough
Other important points that feature in an EU-Africa action plan for migration agreed to at the summit include a reduction in the transaction costs of migrants transferring money from Europe to Africa, the setting up of a joint investigation team in Niger against migrant trafficking and smuggling, the doubling of the number of scholarships for African students and academics, fighting corruption, measures to prevent and counter radicalism and violent extremism and the launch of pilot projects offering legal migration in certain African countries.
The latter point, if managed properly, could go a long way in preventing irregular migration, and could also be of benefit to European economies, many of which are witnessing very low population growths.
The above pledges, including the establishment of a Trust Fund, should help in the long-run, but in the short-term much more is needed including a truly common approach to the migration problem by the EU member States. For example, the relocation of the 160,000 migrants in Europe is going at a ridiculously slow pace. Only 130 people have been relocated so far, even though an agreement was reached last September. It is simply unfair, and goes against the European spirit of solidarity, for a few countries to be burdened by excessive migration, while others simply watch and do nothing.
At the end of the EU-Africa Summit, an informal EU summit was held on Thursday afternoon, where Mr Tusk called for partnerships with countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and the Western Balkans, where many of the Syrian refugees are housed, or pass through. In fact, an EU summit with Turkey is to be held at the end of the month to address the refugee crisis, as Turkey is home to 2.2 million Syrian refugees.
Tackling migration is a difficult challenge and there are no easy solutions. The Valletta Summit was a step in the right direction but what is needed right now is more unity and solidarity among EU countries when addressing this problem and more of an effort by the international community to help bring about a political settlement in Libya – from where many African migrants pass through before ending up in Europe – and Syria – where millions of refugees have fled the country’s brutal war. Additionally, all countries should agree to take in refugees, irrespective of their geographical location.