http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2016/06/10/wide-agreement-on-migration-compact-alfano-3_edc0561a-2506-427a-9e8e-5b15db2b38c9.html
Wide agreement on EU Migration Compact, Italian minister
'Resources will be found'. Funding is the problem, says Austria
10 JUNE, 20:13
LUXEMBOURG - Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said after a meeting of EU interior ministers Friday that "we found support for the Migration Compact, I think there was wide agreement." He said "it was repeated to me that the resources will be found".
The EU is framing a Migration Plan based on Italy's proposed Migration Compact, which is aimed at helping migrant countries of origin and transit such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Jordan and Lebanon.
"We have to find the resources to do everything, knowing that Europe can become a protagonist only if it takes on itself wholly the negotiation and organisation of all the migration system, including releations with third countries in Africa," Alfano said.
"In 10 days there will be the Council of the heads of State and government and there a definitive solution will be found", he added. He made the statement on leaving an interior ministers council meeting.
''Everyone has realized,'' Alfano said, that ''if it is not done now, it will be due to a lack of will and not of proposals''.
'Repatriation an EU duty', Alfano.
''I insisted a great deal on the issue of repatriation,'' the minister added, ''explaining that we must work on refugee reception'' while for those who arrive illegally, ''they need to be deported and this is an EU duty''. The EU office for repatriation foreseen by the new EU border control agency ''is an important result, since it has been understood that repatriations must be done at the EU level.
But the main thing is in relations with third countries, those that have to take those repatriated, as well as transit ones, to achieve forms of collaboration with them that prevent migrants from passing through them. We have conducted missions in Niger, other countries have done others - however, any national mission does not have the efficacy of a European one,'' he said. ''We are convinced that if there are repatriation agreements, the money will be found. It would be stupid not to find money for a priority of this sort.''
Funding is the problem, says Austria
Austrian minister Wolfgang Sobotka was more skeptical about the EU plan. ''Everyone agrees on the principle of solidarity as concerns the EU Commission plan for accords with third countries,'' he said on coming out of the meeting, ''and even if there is the will to translate this solidarity into action, this is not easy - especially when we are talking about funding, because in the end this plan means that money must be put into it.''
Received on Fri Jun 10 2016 - 14:20:42 EDT