Brussels, 20/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Mediterranean regions of Europe have said that they are mobilising against “the scandal of thousands of children, women and men perishing in the Mediterranean, whilst fleeing war, persecution, poverty and extremism”.
A meeting on 18-19 May was hosted by the Region of Sicily as part of the Mediterranean Interregional Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR). The acting presidency of this organisation is currently held by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which adopted a declaration launching a campaign to make 2015 a year of solidarity on the theme of “We Are All Mediterranean”.
The regional and local authorities on the northern Mediterranean rim point out that they are “on the front line” when taking in illegal migrants, “but without having the appropriate means” to carry out this task. They “often have to assume responsibility for the humanitarian, financial and technical tasks of saving lives and ensuring the economic and social integration of the migrants”. They point out that they are “offering a hand to these people risking their lives, irrespective of their religion, the colour of their skin or origin”. The campaign is therefore seeking to “reiterate the humanitarian values underpinning the common European project”.
The Mediterranean regions of the EU have also issued a series of recommendations that the European Parliament will be the first to receive. According to these recommendations, Europe must “be a protagonist in the Mediterranean peace process and fight against all organised criminal networks” as well as “responding to the humanitarian emergency created by the migrants by ensuring their rescue at sea and their reception in appropriate humane conditions”. The regions are calling on the “European institutions to define a genuine Mediterranean policy that takes into account the management of migratory flows and responds to the challenges facing the Mediterranean people in their common destiny.” (Fathi B'Chir)