Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The current developments around the world, underline the importance, the usefulness, and the necessity of a large scale EU-ARAB dialogue.
The formation of the establishments of a cultural, economic, as well as, a political alliance speaks for itself.
This is why this event could not be more timely.
And given its significance, it should become a regular and frequent occurrence.
Europe has a connection with Arab countries that goes far back in history.
But beyond our historical connection, it has become evidence that we are facing the same challenges that transcend borders and cannot possibly be addressed by nation-states alone, let alone by traditional alliances between states.
Today I wish to elaborate a bit more on some of those challenges, on which I work on a daily basis as European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship.
Dear friends,
I recognize among the participants today outstanding personalities from both the business and the political fields.
This amalgam is a major guarantee for a successful outcome.
The more we work together the more we bring the Arab world closer to Europe and vice versa.
We need to explore new ways of cooperation in the face of the multifaceted challenges we are ALL confronted with: stronger partnerships are the building blocks of an efficient policy.
The EU-Arab Forum heralds the beginning of a platform for our regular dialogue.
The spectrum of this dialogue extends from economic opportunities to substantial political cooperation which aims at serving our common goal for stability and peace.
From my previous positions, as Minister of Foreign of Affairs of Greece for instance, many of you know and remember that I have been constantly advocating for a better, deeper and sustainable understanding and cooperation.
Now, in my present function of European Commissioner, I feel this stronger than ever.
Dealing on a daily basis with the crises of migration and security, as they result from the global developments I see clearly the need for this understanding and cooperation at all levels.
In the EU we have elaborated comprehensive policies both for migration and for security, namely through two comprehensive European Agendas presented more than a year ago, that are currently being implemented.
Dear friends,
Migration is an extremely complex and challenging phenomenon both for the EU and for the Arab countries.
I am fully aware of the extremely heavy migratory pressure and the dramatic number of refugees that some Arab countries are receiving, mainly due to the conflicts in Syria and part of Iraq.
Migration, and in a wider sense human mobility, is already one of the trends shaping the 21st century: we live in the era of mobility.
Migrants are present in a great number of countries
– in 2015 their number surpassed 244 million.
People move for various reasons.
The combination of many factors and in particular the political instability means that more people are likely to become critically vulnerable.
Nowadays, we are witnessing the highest number of forcibly displaced people since the Second World War:
65.3 million people were displaced from their homes by conflict and persecution in 2015.
Measured against the world’s population of 7.4 billion people, one in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee.
While some of these people have fled war, others were born in displacement and know no other life than the one of being a refugee.
This is a global crisis.
We have to provide answers:
from trying to save lives and offer protection,
to fighting smugglers and traffickers
and addressing root causes of irregular migration.
This is an extraordinary task. It is not just business as usual.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The EU is facing up to this massive challenge and playing its role in these difficult times together with its partner third countries.
The EU is providing important assistance to its neighbouring countries affected by the Syrian crisis, especially as regards humanitarian assistance.
Responsibility-sharing has to be translated into action, by offering resettlement to those in need.
The EU Member States have already committed to resettle thousands of refugees.
I count on our Member States to deliver on these commitments.
But I also count on our closer cooperation and understanding to share this responsibility.
Solidarity is a basic principle upon which Europe is build, but also upon which is based its cooperation with its partners.
And this has to be visible.
We should however also use this political momentum to strive for turning migration towards opportunities for development.
In the Agenda on migration, adopted as I mentioned already in May 2015, the EU Commission indicated the essential pillars for managing migration better;
We do recognize the crucial importance of reducing the incentives for irregular migration and fighting criminal networks of ruthless smugglers.
However, we also recognise the need for a new policy on legal migration.
At the same time the EU has instruments for legal migration, be it long-term stay, seasonal stay or, of course, short term visits for business or tourism.
One should not forget that opening legal ways for migrants is an indispensable element for stemming irregular migration.
Of course, this goes beyond resettling those in need of protection.
That being said, please be confident that Europe is not closing its borders to migrants.
It never has and it never will.
Quite the opposite:
Every year, more than 2 million people are given residence permits for work, studies, family or other reasons.
Nearly 15 million receive short-term visas.
With 1 million non-EU students present, the EU is one of the world’s most attractive destinations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the same time as managing the crisis of migration, we are also forced to respond quickly and effectively to a crisis of security.
Waves of terrorist attacks over the past year-and-a-half have shaken our societies to their foundations.
Before our minds wonder off into easy syllogisms,I want to be absolutely explicit, that there should be a clear distinction between people in the need of international protection or of a better life and terrorists.
People seeking protection are running away from the same terrorists we are trying to protect ourselves from.
In this spirit our EU policy puts the fight against racism and xenophobia at the epicenter of our efforts.
Because xenophobia, is one of the root causes of the rise of populism and nationalism, one of the viruses that are destroying our societies – not only the European societies.
I want to be clear: Islam cannot be and should never be identified with terrorism.
We should remember that the very first victims are Muslims themselves.
We are very active on this front, and have already allocated EUR 4.5 million in 2016 to projects on improving inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue between communities.
We are all in the same side, and we want to unite our forces to combat this phenomenon.
That said, we should also unite our forces to defeat terrorists themselves.
Dear friends,
The prevention of radicalisation is one critical as part of this response.
But our action and our cooperation should be broader.
Targeting not the symptoms of the problem, but the root causes themselves.
And also, better preventing possible threats.
This is why in Europe, we are working on building a genuine and effective Security Union.
Our central priority in this Security Union is to enhance our information exchange among Member States but also with key partners.
This is our strongest weapon against terrorists.
We are also undertaking measures to jointly strengthen our external borders and to modernize our border management.
As I said before, Europe is not closing its borders: on the contrary, we are trying to ensure the highest levels of security with the simultaneous facilitation of the bona fide travelers.
Once all these systems are in place, this will also give us the possibility to expand our visa policy as well, based on criteria of mutual economic benefits and cultural exchanges.
Dear friends,
The Arab World and the Arab culture have contributed to the shaping of the world of our days.
And we have not only to recognize it but also to open more opportunities for coming closer to each other.
But yes, there are still pending issues and I would like once again to reiterate the very clear and firm position on the Palestine issue.
There is no doubt that peaceful coexistence in mutually recognized borders is a precondition in order to give to the one of the last divided neighborhoods in the world a chance for the future.
The EU’s objective is to reach a solution to the conflict on the basis of two states (Israel and Palestine) living side by side in peace and security.
We cannot accept the continuation of the spiral of violence.
If we want to seriously address the tensions, the most important thing is to urgently relaunch a meaningful political process.
Given the important role of Jordan, Egypt and the Arab League as key regional players, Europe will continue working closely with them.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are in a country my country that was historically, culturally and economically the bridge between the Arab countries and Europe.
I am here among you as an admirer of the great Arab culture ready to transmit a very strong signal, of the creation and adoption of common policies in order to address the challenges I mentioned.
We should all together walk hand in hand on the same path of our common future to ensure peace, stability and cooperation.
We should be based on stronger and sincere relations, and ensure tangible results for our citizens and our nations.
I am more than convinced that this very first forum will give birth to a permanent platform, a sustainable institution, to serve common causes and aspirations, and carve joint paths to follow ensuring a strong and deep cooperation among the European and the Arab nations.
And the quote which embodies this spirit of cooperation belongs to a famous and successful industrialist Henry Ford:
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Thank you very much for your attention.