European leaders agreed this evening to provide Niger with €610 million for the country to try to prevent people from leaving Africa in search of better lives in Europe.

During a European Council meeting in Brussels, leaders also agreed to replicate a migration agreement the EU has with Turkey for the central Mediterranean region.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told journalists that the idea, pushed by Malta, had now been widely accepted and had become “main stream.”

Dr Muscat said that the migration crisis still existed in the central Mediterranean region, and countries like Libya should be given a bigger political priority by Europe.

Niger is considered to be the main transit route for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Close to 5,000 people died while trying to cross the deadly sea.

The deal, which returns refugees arriving in Greece to Turkey, is criticized because it flirts with the limits of international law and ignores the plight of people in serious need. But the deal has cut daily migrant arrivals from around a 1,000 to 100. It’s ‘success’ has encouraged the EU to seek similar deals to manage migration with Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.

Speaking to journalists Dr Muscat said he saw a change that did not exist before; “a great emphasis was being made on the Maltese agenda on the central Mediterranean.”

The government, he said, would keep pushing the agenda forward when EU leaders meet in Malta in February.

Dr Muscat said there had been some criticism about the repatriation of Malian migrants but this was “part of the asylum package” that the EU needed to push more.

The EU leaders, excluding British PM Therese May, attended a working dinner after the Summit, with the main topic being Brexit. The 27 member states are seeking a united front on the negotiations. There was talk of discord among the leaders but Dr Muscat played the rumours down said the discussion had not yet started.

Asked to react to speculation that the Brexit negotiations could take up to ten years to conclude, and where this would leave Britain, Dr Muscat said he could not envisage a scenario where the UK did not have some form of trade agreement with the EU but reiterated that Britain would, in turn have to accept the concept of freedom of movement.

PRIM MINISTER COMMENT from The Malta Independent on Vimeo.

The EU Council is also discussing the Syrian conflict, particularly the latest developments in Aleppo. Other topics covered included security, youth unemployment and external relations.

Leaders reached a compromise with the Netherlands that should allow the bloc to enact an agreement on closer ties with Ukraine, regarded as a landmark deal to counter Russian influence.

On the other hand it was announced that the EU will extend its sanctions against Russia for six more months to keep pressure on Moscow to respect the fragile peace agreement in Ukraine.

The EU leaders on Thursday also strongly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for his continued support for Syrian leader Bashar Assad and the air campaign over Aleppo. The sanctions were not linked to this, though.

 

Continuation with new Italian government

Dr Muscat earlier said he believed that there will be a “strong continuation” with the new Italian government led by Paolo Gentiloni over the work done with the Renzi administration.

PM Gentiloni, who previously served as Foreign Affairs Minister in Matteo Renzi’s government, is attending his first EU Summit in his new role. He has just won a second vote of confidence in the Italian chamber of deputies.  

Dr Muscat met Mr Gentiloni earlier today at a Summit of the Socialist group.