European Union leaders meet in Malta on Friday to give their political backing to a series of new measures aimed at stemming the flow of migrants from the Libyan coast to Italy. The perilous Mediterranean crossing is now the main migrant route to Europe, after a EU-Turkish deal last year that has slashed the numbers arriving in Greece via Turkey. The EU, beset by disputes over the uncontrolled arrival of some 1.5 million refugees and migrants in the past two years, is determined to shut it down. Below are key elements of a draft declaration, seen by Reuters, to be made by the EU leaders in Malta. - "We are determined to take additional action to stem migratory flows along the Central Mediterranean route and break the business model of smugglers... We will step up our work with Libya as the main country of departure as well as with its North African and sub-Saharan neighbours. Our actions will be carried out in full respect for human rights and international law" and in conjunction with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). - "In Libya, capacity building is key for the authorities to acquire control over the land and sea borders and to...
from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/2kKOoUl
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