MEP Roberta Metsola has started negotiations with the Council on her new border law, which will see an addition of 10,000 security guards working to further protect the Union’s borders as well as facilitating the process of returns of irregular migrants.
During the negotiations initiated today, on behalf of the European Parliament, MEP Roberta Metsola will be piloting the negotiations with the Governments of all EU’s Member States and the European Commission. The negotiations are held with the Minister responsible for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.
As the rapporteur of the European Border and Coast Guard file, MEP Metsola said: “We could start today’s discussions with the Governments only after we won some tough negotiations within the European Parliament. Different political groups had different agendas and priorities but long hours of debates, discussions and negotiations led us to a final and strong position. Now, I am making sure that what Parliament has agreed upon, is reflected in the final draft of the law after the negotiations with the Council. I am resolved to see this new pillar of legislation enacted before the elections and I determined to get it right.”
Metsola, who is the EPP Group Coordinator within the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee said: “This new law is about security and giving the EU the tools it needs. Security is the main concern of European citizens across all the EU’s Member States, including in Malta and Gozo and I want to make sure that this law will address those concerns. We want a continent which is safer both to its citizens and those who visit it. Throughout all the negotiations, I always keep one guiding principle in mind: being fair with those in need of protection, firm with those who do not, and harsh with those who seek to exploit the most vulnerable. This is what underpins all my negotiations on these issues.”
Trilogue negotiations will continue in the coming weeks in Brussels and Strasbourg.