The Commission presented a communication on the work of the Task Force Mediterranean set up following the Lampedusa disaster which involved the sinking of a boat with around 500 migrants on board off the coast of Lampendusa (5 October 2013).

The loss of human lives triggered a strong call for action from European leaders and European citizens. The EU called for determined action to be taken in order to prevent deaths at sea and to prevent such human tragedies from happening again. This action would be targeted at the provision of protection, guided by the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility with a strong external oriented component.

In light of this, after the tragedy of Lampedusa, the Foreign Affairs Council of 18 November 2013 discussed ways to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation with third countries. The European Parliament also adopted a resolution on this subject on the 23 of October.

Necessary measures : during the discussion at the meetings of the Task Force and on the basis of the mandate, it emerged that a comprehensive range of measures must be used following an integrated approach for the whole Mediterranean area.

They include, among other areas:

assistance and reinforced dialogue with countries of origin and transit in line with the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility; a renewed focus on resettlement and regional protection efforts; legal channels to safely access the European Union to be explored, as well as a general focus on increased resettlement efforts; the fight against trafficking and smuggling of human beings and criminal networks; ensuring a speedy and sustainable return of migrants in a humane and dignified manner; strengthening the management of the EU's external borders; implementation of the recently adopted Eurosur Regulation; the support to Member States facing pressure on their migration and asylum systems.

The actions contained in this communication follow this holistic approach, while focusing on immediate and practical solutions that could complement ongoing activities in the whole of the Mediterranean in the short term.

Five main areas of action emerged from the Task Force discussions with a wide geographical scope: from the countries of origin and transit, to prevent migrants from undertaking dangerous journeys, to the shores of the European Union:

(1) Actions in cooperation with third countries;

(2) Regional protection, resettlement and reinforced legal avenues to Europe;

(3) Fight against trafficking, smuggling and organised crime;

(4) Reinforced border surveillance contributing to enhancing maritime situational picture and to the protection and saving of lives of migrants in the Mediterranean;

(5) Assistance and solidarity with Member States dealing with high migration pressure.

Immediate measures will need to be complemented by long-term initiatives , grounded on the best available research, aimed at addressing the root causes of migration (poverty, human rights violations, conflict, lack of economic opportunities, poor working conditions, unemployment, etc).

Initiatives should also be taken to reform the legal and administrative framework on migration and asylum in countries of transit. Any EU action must be seen in the wider political context of the EU relationship with respective partner countries and regions: it notably cannot be isolated from the European Neighbourhood Policy and from the external migration policy framework of the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM).

It should be noted that all actions under this communication will have to be fully compliant with international human rights standards (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, etc) and to the applicable provisions as regards the protection of data protection.

Follow-up : in the follow-up to this communication, appropriate consideration should be given to the resources and assets that could be made available , within the existing budget constraints, by all actors involved in order to implement the actions and achieve the overall objective of preventing tragedies such as Lampedusa from happening again in the future.

The European Commission should regularly report to the Council and the European Parliament on progress made on the implementation of the TFM communication.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on migratory flows in the Mediterranean, with particular attention to the tragic events off Lampedusa.

The resolution was tabled by the Greens/EFA, EPP, EFD, GUE/NGL, ALDE groups and Cristiana MUSCARDINI (ECR, IT).

It expressed deep sadness at the tragic loss of 300 lives in Lampedusa and was of the opinion that Lampedusa should be a turning point for Europe, stating that the only way of preventing another tragedy was to adopt a coordinated approach based on solidarity and responsibility, with the support of common instruments . The European Union and the Member States must do more to prevent further loss of life at sea.

Members urged Member States to fulfil their legal obligation to come to the assistance of migrants at sea and noted that legal entry into the EU is preferable to a more dangerous irregular entry, which could entail human trafficking risks and loss of life. They stressed that the relocation of beneficiaries of international protection and asylum seekers was one of the most concrete forms of solidarity and responsibility-sharing, and pointed to the importance of projects such as the Pilot Project for Intra-EU Relocation from Malta (EUREMA), under which beneficiaries of international protection were being relocated from Malta to other Member States. Parliament advocated developing more initiatives of this kind.

Parliament went on to make the following observations and recommendations:

Responsibility sharing mechanism : Members underlined the importance of responsibility-sharing in the field of asylum, and recommended creating a mechanism based on objective criteria to reduce the pressure on those Member States receiving higher numbers of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection, in either absolute or proportional terms.

Task force : welcoming the Commission’s intention to establish a task force on the issue of migratory flows in the Mediterranean, Members insisted that Parliament should be involved in such a task force at either a political or a technical level. They also welcomed the Commission’s proposals to deploy a search-and-rescue operation from Cyprus to Spain.

EASO and FRONTEX: the resolution asked for an increase in the budget for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and for the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States (Frontex) in order to assist Member States in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational assistance at the external borders, including situations which involve humanitarian emergencies and rescue at sea. It also asked the Council and the Commission to consider the possibility of establishing an EU coast guard and of setting up another Frontex operational office in areas of migratory pressure, and in particular in the Mediterranean region, with related costs covered by the Member State selected.

Criminal sanctions : Member States were urged to lay down strong criminal sanctions for those individuals who facilitate human trafficking both into and across the EU, and to set up wide-ranging information campaigns to raise awareness of the kinds of risks faced by those who put their lives into the hands of traffickers and smugglers.

Assistance to migrants in distress : calling on the Commission to review Council Directive 2002/90/EC, which defines the sanctions in the event of facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence, Parliament called for clarification that the provision of humanitarian assistance to migrants at sea who were in distress was to be welcomed, and was not an action which should ever lead to any form of sanction. Members wanted the EU and the Member States to amend or review any legislation sanctioning people assisting migrants in distress at sea.

Cooperation between EU and third countries : the resolution stressed the need for better, more efficient cooperation between the EU and third countries to prevent a repetition of such tragic occurrences as those off Lampedusa. Agreements on migration management between the EU and transit countries to the EU must be a priority for the Union, including the funding of police facilities and training in law enforcement capabilities, and assistance for these countries – and migrants’ countries of origin – to diversify and improve their economies. At the same time, Parliament stressed the need for third countries to respect international law with regard to saving lives at sea, and to ensure the protection of refugees and respect for fundamental rights.