MEPs call on the EU to step up cooperation with Africa after the Valletta summit

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2015-11-26

The EU must take concrete steps to tackle the migration crisis and terrorism, such as building a partnership to this end with Africa, said MEPs in Wednesday’s debate with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Nicolas Schmit, representing the Council Presidency. The debate focused on the outcomes of the EU-Africa summit in Valletta (Malta) on 11-12 November and the G20 one in Antalya (Turkey) on 15-16 November.

''The EU and Africa face the same challenges. That is why we need to develop common instruments to manage the migration crisis'', said Ms Mogherini, adding that migration is only one of the challenges that the EU and African countries must respond to together.

''We need a global approach to deal with terrorism'', said Mr Schmit commenting on the results of G20 summit. He stressed that blame for terrorism should not be pinned on religion or a specific nationality or ethnic origin.

While some MEPs considered the Valletta Summit to have been useful and stressed the need for a full partnership with Africa, others believed that there were also missed opportunities, for example to strike readmission agreements. The EU should take responsibility and concrete steps to tackle the crisis while member states must respect their commitments, notably by funding them. Many MEPs also underlined that terrorism should not be attributed to migration.

Source: European Parliament

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