At their informal meeting in Valletta on Friday 3 February, the EU heads of state and government adopted, as agreed, a statement on managing the migrant situation in the central Mediterranean and measures to be taken to prevent migrant departures from Libya – from where 90% of the migrants arriving on the Italian coast set off.
In the view of Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, this is a “very important step”, even if, alone, it will certainly not be enough to settle the problem, he said. Muscat believes that this Malta Declaration is nevertheless a sign that the 28 EU member states want to cooperate and agree.
In their Malta Declaration, the EU28 affirmed that a key element of a sustainable migration policy is the effective management of “our external borders” and the decrease in migration flows to the EU. They also reiterate their support for the EU-Turkey agreement as regards the eastern route of the Aegean Sea, as well as the actions taken to close the Western Balkans.
There is no question, however, of their mentioning an EU-Libya agreement of the same type made with Turkey. This matter is understood, with most member states agreeing that the two situations cannot in any way be compared and do not therefore require the same response. The migration flows are not the same, a diplomatic source stated on Thursday. According to this source, the people coming through Turkey are especially people who can claim refugee status, while the people arriving in Italy are most often considered as economic migrants.
Helping build stability. There is also the issue of the EU’s speaking partners. Libya does not at this stage have a recognised government with control over the whole of the country. In addition, the EU should also start dialogues with the local communities. “We must do our utmost for the Libyan political process to be able to progress”, France’s President François Hollande stated. “It is very important for there to be reconciliation … the reaffirmation of the state's political authority in Libya. This political process is crucial for the recovery of authority, the implementation of the measures to control the borders, and the deployment of humanitarian operations and coastguards”.
“Libya must be given the capacity to fight illegal immigration”, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel stated. “But Libya is in a difficult situation. The government does not have the stability it needs”. “The government of national unity needs to be helped to exercise its authority throughout the territory.”
While waiting, the measures taken by the EU28 remain limited, despite the calls of Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who had asked his colleagues to consider an agreement similar to that negotiated with Turkey.
But there is no question in the Malta Declaration of migrants being returned to Libya, with the European leaders insisting, by contrast, on maintaining migrants on the ground and on improving these people’s living conditions. In their list of actions, the Europeans also underline the training and equipping of Libyan coastguards to help them prevent people from setting off and drowning at sea. Around 1,500 people were rescued off the coast of Libya the day before the summit.
Among the measures retained, Europeans want to continue the actions of dismantling smugglers’ networks, helping develop local communities “where possible” (especially in the coastal areas or on the routes taken by migrants), and improving the socio-economic situation of these local communities. Europeans also want to support the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner in their efforts to develop reception centres for migrants in Libya, and to help the IOM in its programmes of voluntary migrant returns from Libya to the country of origin.
The European leaders also backed the cooperation agreement signed during the evening of Thursday 2 February by Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and said they were ready to bring their support.
At the time of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the EU took the agreement made between these two countries as its basis. In exchange for several tens of millions of euro, the Libyan authorities ensured the strict monitoring of Libya's borders and the return of migrants to Libya. The EU had at that time given Gaddafi €50 million to implement this programme.
For the actions contained in the Malta Declaration, the EU has provided for a €200 million envelope for 2017, which will be used both to help the Libyan coastguards and to support projects in Libya's neighbouring countries. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)