Brussels, 18/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 September, member states refused to give a positive answer to Malta's request for equitable sharing of the burden arising from the rescue of migrants from the central area of the Mediterranean. EU home ministers, meeting in Brussels at the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA), preferred to call for a broader response, although this could take longer.
Failure to meet commitments. Since last spring, member states have been unable to agree on what responsibilities should be incumbent upon a state that rescues migrants at sea. This means that there is the risk of such migrants being abandoned (EUROPE 9445). At the European Council in June, European leaders had reaffirmed that “European solidarity” and an “equitable sharing of responsibility” should be among the EU's founding principles. One diplomat said “no progress has been made on this issue which is not only a political but also a legal matter”. He said the Maltese solution of burden-sharing would have the effect of sucking in the many thousands of poverty-stricken Africans wishing to come to Europe. Not wishing to have European action reduced to a simplistic, if not counter-productive, form, member states argued in their conclusions for a transversal response, including an increased effort on the part of third countries, and more especially from Libya whose borders are particularly porous.
Global response. Ministers were adamant that all member states should provide support (e.g. on return operations, reception conditions, voluntarily hosting of persons such as asylum seekers, refugees, etc.) on a bilateral basis to individual member states facing a particular pressure. They stress the need to encourage closer cooperation with third countries of origin and transit, including those third countries identified for the purpose of priority work in order to: - enhance their capacity to manage their own borders; - help them to fulfil their responsibilities as regards search and rescue; - fight organised crime involved in trafficking/smuggling in human beings; - enhance their capacity to provide protection to those who need it; - and provide an effective framework for returns including through readmission agreements. It is to this backdrop that Malta and Libya recently began discussions with a view to signing a cooperation agreement. To date no agreement has been sealed. “We are trying everything to keep the dialogue open”, said Tonio Borg, Malta's Home Minister, when he arrived at the ministerial meeting. “There is a movement, but not enough”, he went on to add. The draft agreement proposed by a joint committee would tackle the two states' respective responsibilities on the search and rescue of illegal immigrants. There is already an agreement of this kind between Libya and Greece.
Good results. Immigration Commissioner Franco Frattini highlighted the encouraging statistics regarding missions currently being conducted by the Frontex Agency. In his view, the operation “Nautilus”, in the central Mediterranean, has allowed over 700 illegal migrants to be intercepted since the beginning of the year, and the “Hera” mission off the Canary Islands has saved over 1,500. In total, 20 illegal passers have been arrested and over 1,000 lives have been saved at sea. Frattini also pointed out that, during operation “Poseidon” (Eastern Mediterranean), some 400 counterfeit identity papers had been confiscated. The Commission also welcomed the fact that discussions had been concluded on Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT). He said the 500 personnel needed to make this instrument work have been found and teams will carry out their first task of intervention in Portugal in coming weeks.
Work to come. The Portuguese EU presidency, which has made immigration one of its priorities, will host a ministerial Euromed meeting in Portugal on 18-19 November. The meeting will aim to strengthen dialogue on immigration-related issues with all Euro-Mediterranean partners. Ministers also encourage the Commission and member states to ensure that funding allocated within the framework of immigration policies should be put to the best possible use. They also invite the European border cooperation agency, Frontex, whose funding is imperative, to focus its efforts on high-risk areas of the Mediterranean. Early September, the commissioner had confided that an operation known as “Hermes” would be launched at the end of the month off the coast of Sardinia, the Balearic Isles and the eastern coast of Spain, mainly to cut off immigration routes from Algeria (EUROPE 9495). Home ministers also called on the Commission to study the possibility of adopting new measures to face up to specific pressures likely to weigh down on some member states. The Commission is invited to present a report by the end of the year on the work currently taking place on the Law of the Sea in order to fill the many legal gaps in Frontex-led operations to save migrants at sea. Frontex Director Ilka Laitinen also pointed out during the meeting that the agency was currently carrying out an analysis of risks in the Black Sea and that a patrol mission (including Romania and Bulgaria) would then be launched. (bc)