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  • 08-01-2021 16:38

EU/Presidency: Portugal's interior minister recalls country's 'solidarity' on migration


Lisbon, Jan. 8, 2021 (Lusa) – Eduardo Cabrita, Minister of the Interior, on Friday reminded his counterparts from Malta and Spain of the solidarity shown by Portugal in the field of migration, a central issue on the agenda of the Portuguese EU Council presidency.

According to a ministerial note, Eduardo Cabrita met, by videoconference, Malta's Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Byron Camilleri, and Spain's Minister for the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez.

Eduardo Cabrita told both ministers that the Portuguese presidency would work on the concept of "flexible compulsory solidarity", on which he had already spoken with Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi last Tuesday.

According to the same note, Eduardo Cabrita recalled that Portugal has always been active in sharing responsibility and solidarity in all outplacement programmes and in all solutions found as a result of the migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

In addition, he recalled that Portugal has always welcomed migrants who arrived by boat in Malta, takes part in the rescue operations in the Greek islands under FRONTEX, and maintains that the pressure on Spain, with the arrival of thousands of migrants, especially in the Canaries, is not a Spanish problem, but a matter for the whole of Europe.

The Portuguese minister is seeking to meet with the four southern European countries that have suffered most from migratory pressure in recent years, namely Greece, Malta, Spain and Italy, in order to foster discussion on the new Migration and Asylum Pact, which was presented by the European Commission last September and which will now be negotiated by the Portuguese EU Council presidency.

Eduardo Cabrita also wants to meet representatives of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, countries which make up the so-called Visegrad Group, which are also at the heart of the discussion on migration to the EU bloc.

The Minister of the Interior wants to hold these meetings by 28 January, when the informal Council of Home Affairs Ministers will take place.

In the same note, he said that the aim of these meetings is to find the points of convergence of each member state in relation to migration and ways to overcome the aspects that generate less consensus.

In this regard, Eduardo Cabrita intends to discuss the external dimension of migration policies, taking into account "the principle that migration is a common European challenge that must be part of the dialogue with neighbouring third countries, such as Morocco and Tunisia, valuing the development cooperation of these countries, the creation of channels for legal migration and mechanisms, in the countries of origin, for the prevention of illegal migration, as well as collaboration on returns".

The control of the EU's external borders through FRONTEX and the balance between the principles of responsibility and solidarity on the part of all member states to respond to the challenges of migration were also topics on the table for discussion.

Portugal took over its fourth Presidency of the EU Council on 1 January, which will run in the first half of 2021 under the slogan "Time to act: for a fair, green and digital recovery".

BYC/AYLS // AYLS

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