“If we continue at this pace with the relocations” of migrants, “ends in 2101“. So complains the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, during the press conference at the end of the EU summit in Valletta.
A heavy criticism of the Member States, which they see growing the tension between Germany and Hungary, with Budapest threatening to send back any refugees Berlin rejects, a day after German minister Wolfgang Schauble described migrants arriving in Germany as an "avalanche". A picture summed up as follows by the number one of the European Council, Donald Tusk: “Saving Schengen is a race against time and we are determined to win it. Without effective border controls, Schengen will not survive. We have to accelerate, without panicking”.
And perhaps for this reason Europe is accelerating cooperation with the Turkey: a summit of the 28 with Ankara as host will be held later this month, probably on 29 November, while yesterday no one objected to the Commission's proposal which provides for a guarantee fund three billion to support Turkey in welcoming Syrian refugees. Five hundred million will be provided by the Commission, 2,5 billion will be paid by the Member States. And it will be necessary to see if the contributions will arrive, given that even on the Trust Fund for Africa the Commission's indications (1,8 billion from Brussels and as many from the Member States) are not being respected for the moment: only a hundred million euros came from various countries.
Renzi chooses not to speak at the end of the informal Council: no press conference and no response to journalists upon departure from Malta. The premier had spoken in the morning, to vindicate Italy's "success" in the summit between the EU and African countries, because "today the EU is taking upon itself with a significant outlay the issue of a renewed relationship between Europe and Africa, and this is a good thing”. Reference to the billion and 800 million that the EU will put on the development of Africa in exchange for simpler procedures for the repatriation of migrants. “I see the glass which is much more than half full: Italy is no longer alone on the issue of refugees; Africa is a priority even if it is not the only priority”.
The Premier underlined that “six months ago, almost nobody spoke about the EU-Africa issue. We – Renzi recalled – have insisted for a long time on tackling this issue as a priority, and for us it is not just immigration, but the Italy-Africa relationship. And I think this summit is a success for our country, because we have placed this issue at the center of our work, and it will be until the G7 in 2017 under the Italian presidency: piece by piece the renewed Italian credibility and the increased solidity of our country they can also lead to significant results”.
