Migration, achieving solidarity among EU member states and addressing the situation in African countries will be among the topmost priorities of the French presidency in the first half of next year, according to Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
He told Times of Malta following a meeting with Maltese counterpart Evarist Bartolo that France was determined to continue trying to convince other EU member states that migration was a European issue that had to be tackled collectively.
He said there were negotiations on the European Commission’s proposed Asylum and Migration Pact but insisted the EU required a strategy on the matter and could not tackle the issue on the basis of emergencies.
“We cannot afford failure. The EU’s credibility is at stake,” he said when asked what France was planning to do to achieve more solidarity from EU member states with those countries such as Malta, Italy and Greece which were at the receiving end of hundreds of migrants every year.
“Malta is on the front line and the effect on it is greater because of its size. We will only reach a solution if everyone is on board. France is always there to help and Europe must be present when needed. The proposed pact has concrete proposals and mechanisms. We need to work on responsibility sharing and solidarity. We require a lasting solution,” he said.
Bartolo said that France had relocated a total of 748 migrants from Malta between 2005 and 2021, a third of all relocations to EU countries. Malta received 23,007 migrants during this period but EU countries had only collectively relocated 2,200 of them.
“We still require more solidarity from EU countries and need the EU to help Libya beef up its border management. We need to help Libya address human trafficking and human smuggling and must help it become a safe and peaceful country, most importantly for the Libyan people who have suffered for far too long,” he said in a joint press conference.
On Libya, Le Drian said the EU needed to speak with one voice because it was “absolutely urgent” to implement the agreed ceasefire and the forum that led to the formation of a new provisional government ahead of elections scheduled for December.