German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday that all the European Union member states are interested in preventing further migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, stressing the need to find proper solutions on the EU asylum system
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday that all the European Union member states are interested in preventing further migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, stressing the need to find proper solutions on the EU asylum system.
"All member states are very much interested in a sustainable solution with regards to migration policy, which also includes search and rescue at sea. We no longer want to pursue any ad-hoc solutions or stop-gap solutions, which are still applied in search and rescue operations at sea. We are all unified in the aim of preventing further deaths in the Mediterranean Sea .... We need a proposal for a common European asylum system, this would be a sustainable solution for all member states, and I heard no one today saying that the existing system should be further continued," Seehofer said at a press conference, held after the informal meeting of EU home affairs ministers.
Seehofer said that Germany, as the president of the Council of the EU, sought to achieve "great progress" on migration.
The German interior minister pointed to the need to cooperate more closely with migrants' countries of origin "to ensure that fewer migrants start on their journey across the Mediterranean Sea."
On July 13, Italy will host a conference on the matter, possibly in the video format, with participation of North African countries, Seehofer said, adding that the event will be followed by a similar conference in Vienna later in July "to discuss the developments on the EU - Western Balkans route."
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, in turn, stressed the need to focus on legal pathways for migrants, and to have better police cooperation with third countries. Johansson praised Germany for putting police cooperation high on the agenda of its presidency.
The commissioner said that it is necessary to boost investment into Europol and Frontex.
