The latest EU agreement on migration does not go far enough in addressing the root causes of the issue and risks “repeating the mistakes of the past”, according to migration organisations.
“It’s more of the same,” said Integra Foundation director Maria Pisani. “The EU is simply throwing money at the problem in the immediate region, maintaining a policy of containment and focusing on securitisation of borders.
“There’s still not enough solidarity between member states and not enough solidarity with the immediate region,” she said.
In an emergency summit in Brussels on Wednesday, European leaders agreed to increase by at least €1 billion the amount given to the United Nations refugee agency and the World Food Programme.
The greatest tide of migrants is yet to come
Leaders also agreed on a “substantial increase” in funds to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey and various measures to strengthen border controls, including stepping up efforts to identify, register and fingerprint asylum seekers.
European Council president Donald Tusk said the agreement was a step in the right direction but warned that “the greatest tide of migrants is yet to come”.
Dr Pisani said that while greater funds for food programmes were a necessity, any agreement that did not address migration as a global phenomenon was doomed to fail. “If you want to avoid the chaos of the summer, offer resettlement from the affected region and provide people with safe and dignified access to international protection,” she said.
“Doing so would kill the people-smuggling industry and ease the huge pressures in the region, which are already having security implications for Europe.”
Aditus director Neil Falzon said Europe was struggling to find solutions that translated values and principles into the actions required to ensure full respect for fundamental human rights.
“Solidarity cannot happen if kept limited to words of sympathy or grief,” he said. “The transition from words to action remains the EU’s key challenge and we urge Malta to be a catalyst for such transition.” In a statement signed by migrant organisations. Dr Falzon called for Malta to take the lead on solidarity by voluntarily accepting a greater number of migrants than the assigned quota of 189.