Video: https://youtu.be/7W021fhK-eQ
Dear all,
We meet today after the signing of the Rome Declaration and the celebration of 60 years of peace and stability in Europe.
Our Justice and Home Affairs meeting comes at a very timely moment for both migration and security issues, as the first point of the Rome Declaration is our joint commitment to continue working towards a safe and secure Europe.
I would therefore like to first thank my good friend, Minister Carmelo Abela, for the excellent work that Malta has so far accomplished halfway into its EU Council Presidency.
Despite recent harsh statements in the press, the EU-Turkey Statement continues to work. The EU is and remains committed to the full implementation of all its elements. The partnership between the EU and Turkey is longstanding and goes beyond migration – it is to the interest and benefit of both to maintain and strengthen it.
We are definitely not where we were two years ago, but greater efforts are still needed from Member States to address the difficult situation in both Greece and Italy.
We had a very honest and frank discussion about relocation today. I have said recently: no more excuses, and I have repeated that again today. There should be no more talk about relocation, but delivery.
With spring approaching, there is no time to waste. We have to reach 3000 relocations per month from Greece and 1500 from Italy.
This is also why we are working hard, together with the Maltese Presidency, to strengthen our cooperation with North African countries in tackling the migration flows on the Central Mediterranean Route.
Stabilising Libya is essential.
We are supporting the capacity-building of the Libyan coast guard and of border management and reception facilities, as well as development projects that will benefit local communities and build their resilience.
We also had a frank exchange of views on our efforts to improve the return system within Europe. The rules on return exist for years already but should be better implemented, in a coordinated and effective manner, by all Member States.
If we want to improve our migration policy overall, reduce irregular arrivals and ensuring protection for those in need, improving return is crucial piece of the puzzle.
We have to make clear to prospective migrants who are not in need of protection and who do not have a right to stay in the EU that they should not undertake a perilous journey to arrive in Europe illegally.
Last week I was in Warsaw, to visit the headquarters of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. I’m glad that the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard is on track. Right now, 1.350 officers are deployed on the ground.
Together with the Member States, we will pursue our efforts to address the outstanding gaps.
This is key both for migration and security,
I am also pleased that we are making progress on the Entry Exist System and ETIAS to strengthen our external borders.
Finally, I want to say a few words about our efforts to prevent radicalisation.
Earlier this month, with Minister Abela and Minister Anvelt from the incoming Estonian presidency, we visited Silicon Valley to discuss our work against online radicalisation with high-level representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google. This is part of our work in the EU Internet Forum against terrorist content online.
This visit consolidated the strong partnership that has been developing over the years with major internet companies in the Forum.
The battleground to fight terrorism is shifting increasingly online today. As the recent attack in London once again shows, home-grown radicalisation, the so-called lone wolves, is our biggest challenge. I would also like to point out that this once again demonstrates that migration and terrorism are NOT related, contrary to what some political voices are saying in Europe.
Today in the Council we discussed online radicalisation, but also ways of strengthening our Radicalisation Awareness Network in this context.
In the coming months, this will be one of the areas where we will redouble our efforts in order to improve both our cooperation at EU level, and results on the ground.
Thank you.