Collective efforts to protect EU borders, tackle the root causes of irregular migration, improve migrant protection defeat human smugglers are showing “concrete results”, according to the European Commission.
The Commission said on Wednesday irregular crossings along the main migratory routes had decreased by 63 per cent in 2017.
Publishing a comprehensive report on the progress made on the European Migration Agenda, it called for further concerted action by the EU, Member States and partner countries to advance and maintain the intensity of EU efforts on all fronts to “better manage migration together”.
“We are exiting crisis mode gradually and we are now managing migration in a spirit of partnership and shared responsibility, inside and outside the EU,” European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said.
“With over 34,400 new resettlement pledges received so far, I welcome the strong commitment shown by member states to reduce irregular and dangerous routes and enhance safe and legal pathways, showing solidarity with host countries outside the EU.”
Call for countries to support aid programmes
The Commission called for countries to increase their financial contributions to the EU Trust Fund for Africa to support programmes tackling root causes in Libya and North Africa.
It also called on them to continue pledging to reach the resettlement target of at least 50,000 places, allowing for the planning of concrete resettlement processes.
In September, the Commission launched a new scheme to resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees, in particular along the Central Mediterranean route, by October 2019.
The Commission also said Member States should collect and provide better data on returns to enable a better assessment of effectiveness. It said the EU resettlement scheme adopted in July 2015 was due to be successfully completed while resettlements under the EU-Turkey Statement continued at a steady pace, with more than 25,700 people resettled.
It hailed the conclusion of a new returns agreement with Bangladesh and said engagement with Ivory Coast, Senegal and Mali would be stepped up, while readmission negotiations with Nigeria and Tunisia should be finalised as soon as possible.
Moreover, the Commission said efforts to tackle root causes of migration had been stepped up, with measures to improve the “often appalling conditions” faced by migrants in Libya and €2 billion worth of programmes under the EU Trust Fund for Africa to increase “stability and resilience by supporting economic development and migration management in countries facing crises”.
The fund also supports work by the IOM and the Nigerian authorities to carry out search and rescue missions in the desert with over 1,100 migrants having been brought to safety after being abandoned by smugglers in 2017.