Agreement on temporary emergency mechanism for rescues at sea
News Migration 24 September 2019
Germany, France, Italy, Malta and the Finnish EU Council Presidency agree on a temporary emergency mechanism for migrants rescued at sea.
Federal Minister Seehofer was very pleased with the results of the special meeting in Malta and the paper drafted by the interior ministers of the four countries together with the Finnish EU Council Presidency and the European Commission. "The most important thing for me is that we have finally made some progress after years of struggle over asylum law in Europe,"
Federal Minister Seehofer said after the agreement was reached. Calling the paper “a good basis for European cooperation on migration issues,”
the federal minister said it could be an important step towards reforming the Common European Asylum System.
Principles of law and humanity
The interior ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Malta, along with the Finnish EU Council Presidency and the European Commission, achieved a fair balance among the interests of the four EU member states, reconciling the principles of law and humanity. The agreement on a temporary emergency mechanism means that ships carrying migrants rescued at sea could dock at a safe harbour as quickly as possible.
Rescued migrants are to be registered and undergo background security checks within four weeks if possible, so that they can be sent on without delay to EU member states willing to accept them.
Ahead of the next meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg on 8 October, the Federal Government will work to persuade as many other member states as possible to accept the agreement.
Preventing ‘pull factors’
Federal Minister Seehofer reiterated his intention to avoid creating incentives, or ‘pull factors’, for migrants to attempt crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. “I would like to organize a conference as soon as possible to discuss practical action to fight human smuggling, expand police cooperation and coast guard operations, and improve the future prospects of people in Africa,”
he said.
As agreed in Malta, the emergency mechanism will initially apply for six months and can be extended in consultation with the other partners to the agreement. If the number of migrants rises significantly, each partner may terminate the agreement unilaterally.