The mini-summit on migration held in Brussels on Sunday confirmed what Malta and other European Union member states have been affirming all along—that the migration issue requires a European response, Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela told journalists in Luxembourg on Monday.
While stressing that the EU needs to continue working with countries of origin and of transit to find ways and means to avoid having migrants risk their lives, the Minister also said that the bloc needs to implement what was agreed inter alia in the Malta Declaration of the Valletta Summit in 2015. “We need to make it work,” he stated.
In the first part of the Council meeting, the Foreign Affairs Ministers were joined by their Defence counterparts to discuss security and defence cooperation in the EU. They focused on the permanent structured cooperation (PESCO), military mobility, the initiatives proposed in the framework of the future multiannual financial framework—namely the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility, and the fight against hybrid threats.
On military mobility, Minister Abela said that Malta supports and comprehends the necessity of having tools to minimise obstacles to rapid reaction, particularly in times of crisis. Malta will continue to provide its contribution to the action plan as it evolves, clearly within the parameters of its national legislation. On the European Peace Facility, the Minister said that Malta is still studying the process, both from a legal and a financial point of view. The Foreign and Defence ministers also exchanged views on EU-NATO cooperation, together with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Following a review of the implementation of the EU Global Strategy, the Foreign Affairs Council discussed the situation in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, with a focus on maritime security, economic development and migration. Minister Abela supported the work being undertaken by the Council in terms of grave security and humanitarian challenges in this region. He positively welcomed the ongoing work to implement the European External Investment Plan (EIP), which is a very valuable tool to encourage investment in the EU’s partner countries in Africa by promoting inclusive growth, job creation, and sustainable development, in so doing addressing the root causes. Also on the agenda was the situation in Jordan. Furthermore, the Ministers discussed Yemen with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who presented his peace plan.
During the Council meeting, the Maltese Foreign Minister debriefed his colleagues on his official ministerial visit to the Middle East last week, in which he held high-level political talks both in Israel and in Palestine.
Meanwhile, on the margins of the meeting, Minister Abela met with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, with whom he exchanged views about the current situation with regard to migration, as well as on tangible ways to further develop bilateral cooperation in the education field.
Before the Council Meeting, Minister Abela participated in a breakfast meeting with the Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati, organised upon the initiative of the Foreign Minister of Greece. Malta reiterated its support for Albania’s efforts to solidify its overall track record in an effort towards eventual EU membership, especially since the European Commission recommended the opening of accession negotiations in April 2018.