Brussels/Luxembourg, 09/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the high level conference on migration that was held in Luxembourg on Thursday 8 October, the foreign and home affairs ministers from the EU, the Balkans, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey underlined their resolve to strengthen their support for the countries neighbouring Syria and for the countries of refugee departures and transit, and also to tackle the reasons for migration. Full of good intentions, the final statement that they adopted makes no concrete announcement.
“We particularly honoured the efforts of the bordering countries that are bearing a very very heavy burden (…) We honoured this enormous effort. There is a need for vigilance about the impact (Ed: of the flows of refugees) on societies in these countries”, said Luxembourg's minister, Jean Asselborn. The ministers thus decided to strengthen their support for the refugees, the people who have been displaced, and the hosting governments and reception communities - in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and also in Iraq and Syria. This support will be materialised through the continuation of emergency humanitarian aid in the longer term for the integration of displaced people. The access in the countries concerned to education and to the labour market, to the possibilities for jobs and to basic services for refugees must also be improved, they add.
The ministers will thus increase investment in improving the socio-economic conditions of the illegal migrants' countries of origin. “Priority must be given to the fight against poverty and inequality”, Asselborn stated. The participants in the conference announced aid for supplying frontline humanitarian assistance to refugees, to asylum seekers and migrants in transit, in the transit countries affected. In order to help the Western Balkans countries better (the transit countries), the EU has proposed extending the scope of the trust fund for Syria to these countries.
In addition, the ministers spoke about the reasons for the forced displacements. In order “to fight the structural causes of instability generally”, the ministers intend to “step up” their diplomatic involvement on the international scene to reach a political solution to the conflict in Syria, “which could include a return in total security of the refugees and displaced people inside the country”. The ministers will step up their efforts in the fight against terrorism and violent extremist groups, “particularly against ISIL” and in order to contribute to the political stability in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Re-establishing calm after the chaos of September. This high level conference also aimed to ease the tension between the EU and the Western Balkans countries after the incidents at the border between Hungary and Serbia, with Hungary having prevented thousands of migrants from reaching its territory by erecting a barbed wire fence. On the level of immigration management, the statement stipulates that the Balkans countries must improve taking these refugees in charge, their registration conditions and the reception conditions. The EU also commits to helping these countries do their work - its objective being for the Balkans countries to regulate the flows of migrants and asylum seekers towards the EU, but not “to prevent them from coming to the EU”, a source from Luxembourg said on Thursday. The intention is no longer to ask these countries to keep the refugees.
The conference statement adopted stipulates that the transit countries must strengthen the management of their borders and ensure the return on their territory of people not able to claim international protection. These countries are also urged to fight against smugglers and organised crime.
According to the same source, a Balkans country (Serbia?) reportedly expressed its disappointment about this statement not being enough. The European list of safe countries of origin, which at this stage includes the Balkans countries and Turkey in the Commission's version, was not discussed - the idea being only to focus on those countries that have become transit countries for refugees and not on the problem that the nationals from Balkans countries pose to the EU, who are accused of making false requests for asylum.
Unveiled at the start of the week, the EU-Turkey action plan on migration from the Commission was not discussed (see EUROPE 11403 and 11404). The Presidency of the Council of the EU is waiting for the Commission to present it with this plan so that the ministers might begin to discuss it. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Solenn Paulic)