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EU makes action plan to stop migrant tragedies

04 December 2013, 18:52 CET
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EU makes action plan to stop migrant tragedies

Lampedusa refugees - Photo Sara Prestianni - noborder network

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union published a list of proposals Wednesday aimed at avoiding tragedies like an October sinking of a refugee boat off Italy's Lampedusa island that killed 300 people.

"Two months ago the tragedy in Lampedusa triggered a very wide and emotional reaction across Europe -- a chorus of voices calling for actions to avoid such disasters in the future," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem in a statement.

"Today we are putting on the table measures and proposals for a truly European response that can make a difference."

Beefing up border surveillance tops the list by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

It also recommends boosting EU assistance to member states experiencing the biggest influx of migrants, improving the fight against human trafficking, opening more legal channels to reach Europe -- including resettling more refugees in the EU -- and working more closely with third countries that serve as transit points.

Member states' interior ministers are due to discuss the recommendations at a meeting Thursday in Brussels and submit an action plan to an EU leaders' summit on December 19 and 20.

Immigration charities estimate between 17,000 and 20,000 migrants have died at sea trying to reach Europe in the past 20 years.

One of the worst was the October 3 tragedy off Lampedusa, when a boat overloaded with refugees, mostly fleeing Somalia and Eritrea, caught fire and capsized.

But tackling the problem is tricky at a time when Europe is in economic stagnation. The issue has raised tensions between better-off members such as Germany and southern countries such as Greece and Italy that bear the brunt of the migrant arrivals.

The Commission recommended reinforcing air and sea patrols on the Mediterranean to detect and intercept migrant boats trying to reach European shores, in line with a plan by EU border patrol agency Frontex -- which estimates the extra cost at 14 million euros ($19 million) a year.

The Commission also said it was setting aside 50 million euros to help countries facing "high migratory pressure", including 30 million euros for Italy.

It said another 400,000 euros per year would be needed to step up the fight against human trafficking and organised crime, according to a Europol estimate.

It also said funding would be made available from 2014 to 2020 to support the expansion of member states' refugee resettlement programmes.

Lampedusa follow-up: concrete actions to prevent 
loss of life in the Mediterranean and better 
address migratory and asylum flows

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