EU commissioner Avramopoulos: Let's prepare for a heavy migratory season

First entry: 14 April 2015

We have to prepare for a heavy migratory season, Greece's EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, DimitrisAvramopoulos told the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in the European Parliament.
Reffering to the situation in the Mediterranean, Avramopoulos said "the arrival of more than 7000 migrants - according to Frontex estimates - to the Greek, Italian and other European coasts over the past few days reminds us that we have to be well aware of the immediate realities at our borders".
"Europe finds itself amidst a widening arc of instability ranging from the East all the way to North Africa. On our Eastern flank, the conflict in the Ukraine fuels instability and anxiety in the entire region. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq generated a historic displacement of people, with serious security and socio-economic implications for neighbouring countries, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Then, of course there is Libya, which has been a recurrent theme in many of your recent debates. With such a set of circumstances in our neighbourhood, we have to prepare for a heavy migratory season, and the Commission is ready to do its part to support and assist those Member States that are affected the most and have urgent needs" Greek EU Commissioner told in his speech.
"In fact, we have recently offered emergency financial support to a number of Member States and we are ready to do this again in the future if needed", he added.
As Avramopoulos said, the EU Commision is ready to assist member States protecting their borders through Frontex in all affected Member States; not only Italy, but also along the Eastern Mediterranean border in Greece and Bulgaria.
"The recent incidents in the Mediterranean, with thousands of migrants crossing - mainly from Libya but also from Turkey - to Italy and Greece, is a stark reminder that we also need to engage in a substantial way with third countries. That is why I will also visit key third countries (Morrocco, Egypt, Tunisia). We have to enhance cooperation with third countries and also apply tools from foreign policy, neighbourhood policies, development aid and trade in order to achieve the objective of better-managed migratory flows. This cannot be a one-way relationship. Third countries must also see the benefits of working with us on migration" he noted.