Video: https://youtu.be/lTCpe2GaJ50
Dear all,
I wish to thank the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Centre and the European Security and Defence College for organising this very timely and topical pilot course dedicated to Crisis response to Mass Migration and Refugees’ flows.
It is with great regret that I cannot be there physically. Nevertheless, I wish to send you a few words through this video.
I am pleased that this course takes place in Greece, a country that as you know has been at the centre of the refugee and migration crisis.
This crisis has put in question the unity of Europe over the past few years. We have seen the rise of populism and a continuous scepticism towards EU action in this area.
And yet, we should not forget all the efforts and results that we have achieved since 2015. In 2015, Europe was confronted with a large number of vulnerable and desperate people seeking refuge on its shores.
At that time, the European Union and its Member States were unprepared and taken by surprise. However, we couldn’t afford to stay idle. We had to act and we did.
In a record time, we took several concrete and immediate measures to respond to the crisis in the Mediterranean, as well as the necessary steps to better manage migration in all its aspects, both internal and external.
We have been working hard and with great determination from the very beginning. All the solutions are based on solidarity and responsibility.
We have taken actions in a comprehensive way, working in three directions:
1. First, working inside the Union.
2. Second, working with partners outside the Union
3. Third, protecting our external borders
Today, the results of our joint efforts over these past few years are very tangible. The numbers are back to, and even below, the pre-crisis years.
To give you an illustration: irregular arrivals into the EU have dropped by over 90% compared to 2015 at the peak of the crisis. On top of that, our EU operations have helped rescue over 730,000 people at sea since 2015.
And we continue to take stronger action against criminal networks of smugglers. We have provided operational and financial support to the most affected Member States, in particular Greece, Italy and Spain.
Almost 35 000 people in need of international protection have been relocated from Italy and Greece.
Thanks to EU resettlement programmes, over 50 000 of the most vulnerable in the Middle East and in North and Sub-Saharan Africa have been given refuge in the EU since 2015.
The controls of the EU external borders have also been strengthened, with the support of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Last week, I was in Tirana, Albania to launch the Agency’s first operation in Western Balkans.
More generally, the cooperation between the Common Security and Defence Policy operations in third countries and Justice and Home Affairs Actors is one of the key pillars of the Civilian CSDP Compact adopted last November.
We have reinforced law enforcement cooperation among Member States, with our EU Agencies, and with third countries of origin and transit.
We have also pioneered experiences to advance cooperation between EU Agencies, such as the European Border Guard Agency and Europol, with CSDP missions. An important example of this has been the creation of the Crime Information Cell pilot on board of Operation Sophia flagship.
An essential part of our policy has been international synergies.
Beyond our effective cooperation with Turkey and the Western Balkans, we have stepped up our cooperation also with North and Sub-Saharan Africa, not only to intensify returns and readmissions, but also to build strategies to address the root causes of migration.
Today, around 70 million people around the world have been displaced, and more than 250 million are on the move, for a variety of reasons.
This means we have to be bold enough to think long-term.
We need a system that is truly shared, and future-proof at the same time.
This means that we also need to continue thinking about comprehensive, global and innovative approaches to migration.
For this reason, I welcome the creation of this pilot course, which should help you understand the complexity of the challenge and what has been achieved, and help policy makers make more informed decisions in the future.
Thank you.