Brussels, 18/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 May, a two-day seminar opened in Palermo (Sicily) to launch a “solidarity campaign” on the theme We are all Mediterraneans. The seminar is expected to enable an “exchange of reflections and experience on the challenges linked to migration in the Mediterranean”. It is being organised by the regions of Sicily (Italy), Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur (France), Catalonia (Spain) and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR). Other countries from the region (especially Greece) are also expected to take part.
The participants are not due to dwell on the reflection side but should promote common action in order to put pressure on European states and institutions and to show the urgency of “concrete responses” to the issue. Recommendations should reflect the common point of view. There are reports that the first to be notified of these recommendations will be European Parliament President Martin Schulz - with whom a meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Those attending the seminar are also asked to determine how “to respond more effectively to emergency humanitarian situations in order to fight the trafficking in human beings and avoid the shipwrecks”. The participants will also discuss the issue of “sharing the responsibility”. One of the points suggests reflecting on a “change of paradigm” in order to move from a migration approach to a people mobility approach. (Fathi B'Chir)