Valletta Summit on Migration
Valletta Summit on Migration Valletta Conference on Migration | |
---|---|
Host country | Malta |
Date | 11–12 November 2015 |
Venue(s) | Mediterranean Conference Centre |
Cities | Valletta |
Website | consilium.europa.eu |
Key points | |
European migrant crisis |
The Valletta Summit on Migration, also called the Valletta Conference on Migration,[1] was a summit held in Valletta, Malta, on 11–12 November 2015, in which European and African leaders discussed the European migrant crisis. The summit resulted in the EU setting up an Emergency Trust Fund to promote development in Africa, in return for African countries to help out in the crisis.
The summit was held at three venues in Valletta. The opening ceremony was held at Auberge de Castille, while the Mediterranean Conference Centre hosted the main conference. Fort Saint Elmo was used as a media centre. The summit was the largest one ever hosted in Malta,[2] with around 4,000 people attending. The summit was held a few weeks before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015, which was also held in Malta.[3]
Background[]
The European migrant crisis began when large numbers of migrants and refugees from various countries came to the European Union and applied for asylum. The term "crisis" has been widely used since April 2015, when a number of boats carrying migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people. Following the shipwreck of 19 April, the European Council held a meeting to discuss the situation of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Among the decisions made during this meeting, EU leaders agreed to increase dialogue with the African Union and other countries involved in the migrant crisis by holding a summit in Valletta, Malta.[1]
The summit was meant to include leaders of the countries of origin, transit or destination of the migrants. The heads of state and government of EU member states, the African Union Commission, the ECOWAS Commission, and states parties to the Khartoum and Rabat Processes were all invited to the summit, as were the Secretary-General of the United Nations and representatives from the International Organization for Migration.[1]
The summit[]
The Valletta Summit began with an opening ceremony in front of Auberge de Castille, the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. A monument was unveiled for the occasion.[4] After the ceremony was over, the leaders were transferred to the Mediterranean Conference Centre.[5]
The summit itself began at 6:30 p.m. with a speech by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. On the first day, the leaders discussed a situation in which African countries would help to reduce migration across the Mediterranean, with the EU giving Africans better access to Europe in return.[2] According to Muscat, the meeting was "less confrontational than expected".[6]
On 12 November, the European and African leaders signed an agreement to set up an Emergency Trust Fund to help development in African countries as well as to encourage those countries to take back migrants who arrived in Europe. The fund pledged €1.8 billion in aid, with other development assistance of €20 billion every year.[7] The leaders also pledged action to improve the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Lake Chad and other parts of Africa to reduce the flow of refugees. They also promised to promote regular migration channels and implement policies for integrating migrants into society.[6]
The summit ended with a Final Declaration and an Action Plan. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, said that the migrant crisis was a "race against time" to save the Schengen Agreement.[7]
Aftermath[]
An informal summit of EU leaders was held just after the Valletta Summit ended. The key points discussed included the threat to the Schengen Area, securing Europe's external border and relations with Turkey.[8]
In July 2016, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Carmelo Abela announced that the Maltese government is planning a follow-up meeting to the Valletta Summit.[9]
Participants[]
The leaders who took part in the Valletta Summit are listed in the table below. Sudan was represented by its foreign minister as President Omar al-Bashir could not travel to Malta due to an international arrest warrant. Poland was only represented by an undersecretary of state due to a clash with the first sitting of the country's new parliament.[10]
Member | Represented by | Title |
---|---|---|
Albania | Edi Rama | Prime Minister |
Algeria | Abdelmalek Sellal | Prime Minister |
Austria | Werner Faymann | Chancellor |
Belgium | Charles Michel | Prime Minister |
Benin | Thomas Boni Yayi | President |
Bosnia and Herzegovina- | Dragan Covic | Chairman of the Presidency |
Botswana | Ian Khama | President |
Bulgaria | Rosen Plevneliev | President |
Burkina Faso | Michel Kafando | President |
Burundi | Pierre Nkurunziza | President |
Cabo Verde | Jorge Carlos Fonseca | President |
Central African Republic | Daniel Emery Dede | Ambassador to the European Union |
Chad | Idriss Déby | President |
Congo | Jean-Claude Gakosso | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Côte d'Ivoire | Alassane Ouattara | President |
Croatia | Vesna Pusić | Deputy Prime Minister |
Cyprus | Socrates Chasikos | Minister for Interior |
Czech Republic | Milos Zeman | President |
Denmark | Lars Løkke Rasmussen | Prime Minister |
Djibouti | Hassan Omar Mohamed Bourhano | Minister for Interior |
Egypt | Sameh Shoukry | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Equatorial Guinea | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | President |
Eritrea | Osman Saleh Mohammed | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Estonia | Taavi Rõivas | Prime Minister |
Ethiopia | Hailemariam Desalegn | Prime Minister |
Finland | Sauli Niinistö | President |
France | François Hollande | President |
Gabon | Ali Bongo Ondimba | President |
Gambia | Abdoulie Jose | Trade Minister |
Germany | Angela Merkel | Chancellor |
Ghana | John Dramani Mahama | President |
Greece | Alexis Tsipras | Prime Minister |
Guinea | Alpha Condé | President |
Guinea-Bissau | Suzi Carla Barbosa | Minister for Cooperation |
Hungary | Viktor Orbán | Prime Minister |
Iceland | Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson | Prime Minister |
Ireland | Frances Fitzgerald | Minister for Justice and Equality |
Italy | Matteo Renzi | Prime Minister |
Kenya | Joseph Ole Nkaissery | Secretary General |
Latvia | Edgars Rinkēvičs | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Liberia | Joseph Boakai | Vice President |
Libya | Abdourhman A. M. Alahirish | Deputy Prime Minister |
Lithuania | Dalia Grybauskaitė | President |
Luxembourg | Xavier Bettel | Prime Minister |
Mali | Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta | President |
Malta | Joseph Muscat | Prime Minister |
Mauritania | Abdalla Ahmedou | Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation |
Monaco | Albert II | Prince |
Montenegro | Filip Vujanovic | President |
Morocco | Salaheddine Mezouar | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Netherlands | Mark Rutte | Prime Minister |
Niger | Mahamadou Issoufou | President |
Nigeria | Abubakar Gusau Magaji | Minister for Defence |
Norway | Erna Solberg | Prime Minister |
Poland | Katarzyna Kacperczyk | Undersecretary of State |
Portugal | Pedro Passos Coelho | Prime Minister |
Romania | Klaus Iohannis | President |
Rwanda | Paul Kagame | President of Rwanda |
Senegal | Macky Sall | President |
Sierra Leone | Samura Kamara | Foreign Minister |
Slovakia | Andrej Kiska | President |
Slovenia | Miro Cerar | Prime Minister |
Somalia | Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke | Prime Minister |
South Sudan | Salva Kiir Mayardit | President |
Spain | Mariano Rajoy | Prime Minister |
Sudan | Ibrahim Ghandour | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Sweden | Stefan Löfven | Prime Minister |
Switzerland | Simonetta Sommaruga | President |
Togo | Komlan Edo Robert Dussey | Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration |
Tunisia | Habib Essid | Prime Minister |
Turkey | Recep Tayyip Erdogan | President |
United Kingdom | David Cameron | Prime Minister |
Member | Represented by | Title |
---|---|---|
European Council | Donald Tusk | President |
European Commission | Jean-Claude Juncker | President |
European Parliament | Martin Schulz | President |
African Union Commission | Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma | Chairperson |
Economic Community of West African States | Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo | President |
Justice and Home Affairs Council | Jean Asselborn | Chairman/Minister |
European External Action Service | Federica Mogherini | High Representative |
European Commission | Neven Mimica | European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development |
Council of the European Union | Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen | Secretary General |
European Asylum Support Office | José Carreira | Executive Director ad interim |
United Nations Secretariat | Jan Eliasson | Deputy Secretary General |
United Nations Secretariat | Peter Sutherland | Special Representative of the Secretary General for Migration and Development |
United Nations Development Programme | Helen Clark | Administrator |
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | António Guterres | High Commissioner |
Union for the Mediterranean | Fathallah Sijilmassi | Secretary General |
Europol | Oldřich Martinů | Deputy Director of Governance |
Frontex | Hendrik Weijermans | Head of External Relations |
International Centre for Migration Policy Development | Michael Spindelegger | Director General |
Intergovernmental Authority on Development | Fathia Alouan | |
Interpol | Jürgen Stock | Secretary General |
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies | Garry Conille | Under Sec. Gen. Programme and Operation |
International Organization for Migration | William L. Swing | Director General |
Arab League | Talal Shubailat | Ambassador, League of Arab States Representative |
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie | Michaëlle Jean | Secretary General |
Sovereign Military Order of Malta | Stefano Ronca | Diplomatic Counsellor to the Grand Chancellor |
Norwegian Refugee Council | EU Advocacy Adviser | |
Coordinator |
Monument[]
A monument commemorating the summit was erected in Valletta's Castille Square, which had just been refurbished. The monument is called The Knot, and it symbolizes unity between Europe and Africa, as well as Malta's geographic position between the two continents. The monument was designed by the artist Vince Briffa,[12] and was carved from Carrara marble.[13]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b c "Valletta Conference on Migration (Malta, 11–12 November 2015) – Orientation debate" (PDF). statewatch.org. Council of the European Union. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ a b Grech, Herman (11 November 2015). "Live commentary: Valletta Summit". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ Attard, Rachel (31 October 2015). "8,000 people, many heads of state participating in Valletta Summit on Migration and CHOGM". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "Castille Square dazzles at the Valletta Summit opening ceremony". Bay Network. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ Sansone, Kurt (11 November 2015). "Valletta Summit: EU-Africa leaders meet amid differences". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ a b Grech, Herman (12 November 2015). "Live commentary: Valletta summit – the final day". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Migration summit: "We are in a race against time to save Schengen" – Tusk". Times of Malta. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "EU informal summit closes: 'We need to regain control of the external border as a precondition for European migration policy -Tusk". Times of Malta. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "Malta wants a Valletta Summit follow-up meeting". Times of Malta. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Ganado, Philip Leone. "Poland missing from summit". Times of Malta. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Participants". consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "New monument for Castille Square". Times of Malta. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "New monument in Castille Square to mark upcoming Valletta Summit for Migration". The Malta Independent. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
External links[]
Coordinates: 35°53′58.2″N 14°31′4.8″E / 35.899500°N 14.518000°E
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