Greece stands in solidarity with Malta and Italy as the first ports of call for migrants attempting to cross over from Africa to Europe via the central Mediterranean route, as these two countries address the issue according to European culture and to the value of the defence of human life and dignity, a Department of Information statement said.

This message was conveyed by the President of the Hellenic Republic, H.E. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, to Malta’s Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Carmelo Abela, during a meeting at the Presidential Mansion in Athens on Thursday 15 September 2016.

President Pavlopoulos referred to the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, signed in 2008 by the European Union’s Member States to serve as the basis for the EU’s immigration and asylum policies in a spirit of mutual responsibility and solidarity between Member States and a renewed partnership with non-EU countries. He said that its fifth paragraph shows that at that point in time European leaders had foreseen the issues the EU is facing today, but unfortunately the necessary measures were not taken.

Minister Abela said that Malta and Greece share many similar concerns vis-à-vis migration, which will be a top priority in Malta’s agenda during its upcoming rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. Malta is committed to protecting lives, but also to fighting against the illegal migrant smuggling circles who are profiting on others’ misery. He added that it is crucial for the EU to tackle this matter holistically, focusing not only on how immigrants are dealt with and distributed, but also on tackling the phenomenon’s root causes while implementing the action plan agreed during the Valletta Summit on Migration last November.