In Brussels the EU heads of state and government are consulting on steps to protect refugees. The primary concern must be to save lives, stressed the Chancellor.
Trafficking in people must be ended and steps taken to tackle the situations that force people to flee their homes in the first place, but "the overriding priority" must be to save lives, said Chancellor Angela Merkel before the special meeting of the European Council. "What is at stake is the acceptance of the European Union and its values worldwide, and that makes today’s issue so vitally important, especially with a view to saving human lives."
As well as sharing the burden and strengthening solidarity among member states, the heads of state and government will discuss ways of addressing the root causes of this issue. This includes closer cooperation with the countries of origin of refuges and the transit countries they use, as well as cooperation between the European Commission and the Commission of the African Union.
In Brussels the heads of state and government will be discussing emergency measures that can be taken by member states and EU institutions to improve the situation of affected individuals. For this, aspects of foreign, home affairs, security and development policy must be integrated into the European Union’s refugee policy.
Heads of state and government will build on the conclusions of last Monday’s meeting of EU foreign and home affairs ministers, said Angela Merkel before the Council meeting. The European Council President Donald Tusk, called the special European Council meeting on refugee policy at short notice.
Wednesday afternoon also saw a special session of the German Bundestag. Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière advocated strengthening the sea rescue mission. He said this was the first priority and the most urgent issue and that it must "be undertaken without delay". He added that he would be happy to see "Germany playing a strong part in this". He once again called for resolute action in the fight against gangs of smugglers.
Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that we must not abdicate our humanitarian responsibility. To address the situation the transit states must also be stabilised. This will take time, money and effort, he said with a view to the situation in Libya.
The two ministers also reported on the meeting of the EU foreign, home affairs and justice ministers on Monday. In Luxembourg they agreed on a ten point programme which is to be the basis for the consultations of the heads of state and government in Brussels.
Ten point programme of the European Commission
The EU is to expand sea rescue operations again and increase the financial resources for the EU’s Triton and Poseidon programmes. At the same time the Frontex operational area is to be extended, making it easier to rescue refugees earlier. A systematic effort is to be made to identify and destroy vessels used by smugglers. As well as preventing trafficking in people, the root causes of the problem are to be addressed in the countries of origin of refugees.
At the beginning of the week Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the refugee tragedy at the G7 dialogue forum with non-governmental organisations. "We will do all we can to prevent more people dying in a most excruciating way in the Mediterranean." At the forum she announced measures to prevent any more loss of life in the Mediterranean, including a clampdown on traffickers and smugglers. This, said the Chancellor, is essential if the European community of values is to retain its credibility.
The main focus must be on stabilising Libya and ensuring closer cooperation with neighbouring European countries. Agencies such as Europol, Frontex und Eurojust are to step up cooperation to gather information on smugglers’ modus operandi, to trace their funds and to assist in their investigation. The European Asylum Support Office is to deploy teams in Italy and Greece to jointly process asylum applications.