Med5 countries call for more anti-trafficking funds to manage migration

The Med5 summit held in the Italian port city of Naples on April 11-12 with the participation of interior ministers from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Malta focused on the fight against human trafficking and migration in the area.

The five interior ministers are from the Mediterranean countries most exposed to migration and all representatives reiterated the importance of this focus while insisting on assisted voluntary repatriation, calling on the EU to provide more funding for “member states on the front lines,” especially “considering the fact that the [bloc’s] external borders are managed by them for the good of the entire” European Union.

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Italian minister says all agreed on need to strengthen Frontex

The meeting reached a shared position in a 26-point document. European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner and Frontex executive director Hans Leijtens also took part in the summit.

“We all recognised the need to strengthen Frontex so that it can play a crucial role in the prevention of irregular migration, for borders surveillance, and to implement the repatriation of irregular migrants,” Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said.

The five ministers reiterated that they had welcomed the “efforts by the European Commission to increase the efficiency of the repatriation process, providing member states with shared regulations”, but added that it is necessary to explore “adequate innovative solutions to deal with irregular migration”.

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‘New partnerships with main origin and transit countries’

The joint declaration underlined that countries need to ensure rapid and effective repatriation, in full compliance with the non-refoulement principle.

The ministers of the five countries added that “assisted voluntary repatriations are an indispensable part of a holistic approach to migration management and an effective measure to support those repatriated in their reintegration into the economic and social fabric of their countries and their communities of origin.”

The ministers called on the European Commission to “maintain an adequate level of funding” to this end. They added that it is also necessary to form “new partnerships with the major countries of origin and transit in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, which play a strategic role in the region and whose stability is fundamental for EU interests.”