Dear all,
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Maltese presidency for its excellent work over the past 6 months.
Thanks to their tireless work, and that of Minister Carmelo Abela who I would like to congratulate in his absence for his presidency and for his appointment as Minister of foreign affairs, we have been able to make significant progress on many migration and security files.
These past few months have also been very challenging, especially in the area of security.
The brutal terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, but also in Stockholm, Berlin, Nice, Brussels, Paris and elsewhere before, They are a stark reminder of why we need to continue pursuing all our efforts on counter-terrorism.
We need to continue working together, with trust and unity, to address a threat which affects all of us, all our citizens, equally.
This meeting of the Council has delivered some very tangible results in this regard: I am pleased that the Member States have agreed their position on ETIAS.
Negotiations with the European Parliament will therefore start soon with the goal of adopting ETIAS by the end of this year at the latest.
This is an initiative that will strengthen our security and the management of our borders.
It will help safeguard and complement our EU visa liberalisation policy, and will increase travel convenience.
It is therefore crucial that it is operational as soon as possible.
The Council today also committed to push the work forward on interoperability for security and border management.
The latest attack in London shows once again: all our systems have to talk to each other.
We need to ensure that our police and border guards, our immigration and customs officers, and our judicial authorities, all have at their disposal the right information at the right time.
In this respect, we also made progress in our discussions for improving the Schengen Information System, a critical information tool at our disposal to enhance security in the Schengen area.
Cooperation with key third countries on all these issues is crucial, and I look forward to a fruitful discussion at the EU-US Ministerial meeting in Malta next week.
This is also the strong message that G7 leaders sent from Taormina a few weeks back.
Terrorism can only be fought if we all pull together, in unity.
Today we also discussed the reform of the Common European Asylum System.
We need a crisis-resistant system, which is both effective and FAIR.
The Maltese presidency has put on the table all the elements to reach an agreement on the reform of Dublin and I am confident that the incoming Estonian presidency will complete this work.
In the meantime, summer is here.
Arrivals in Italy are increasing.
While the EU-Turkey Statement still holds and delivers, we have to remain vigilant.
A lot of effort is also being put in managing the flows in the framework of the Malta Declaration and the Partnership Framework – for example the work with the Libyan coast guard.
On relocation, let me echo President Juncker’s words from yesterday: relocation was a collective decision, and it is also a collective responsibility to implement this demonstration of solidarity.
Solidarity cannot be a one-way street or à la carte.
I have said it before: the Commission is the Guardian of the Treaties, and we will not hesitate to act if we see that our fundamental principles are being neglected.
As we head into summer, we know from experience that this is not a moment to become complacent.
But we are also not where we were two years ago.
Now is the moment to build on our achievements so far and continue moving forward, on both migration and security issues.
Thank you.