Special Meeting of the European Council to address the situation in the Mediterranean

The European Council held a special meeting with a view to adopting different orientations to address the tragic situation in the Mediterranean.

Council of the European Union logo

Given the increasing number of migrants perishing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, the European Council held a special meeting on migration on 23 April 2015. In a Statement published the same day, the Council recalled the seriousness of the situation in the Mediterranean and underlined the need to prevent more people from dying at sea. Different agreed orientations to be immediately implemented were announced in the Statement:

  • Strengthening European presence at sea by a rapid reinforcement of EU Operations Triton and Poseidon;
  • Fighting traffickers in accordance with international law by, notably, disrupting trafficking networks and destroying the vessels;
  • Preventing illegal migration flows through, amongst others, an increased cooperation with African origin countries in order to tackle the cause of illegal migration and building capacity for border management;
  • Reinforcing internal solidarity and responsibility through an effective implementation of the Common European Asylum System and an increased emergency aid to frontline Member States for example.

Particular reference was also made to the unstable situation in Libya and the conflict in Syria, situations that deserve particular attention and additional European efforts.

More information on the agreed orientations can be found in the European Council press release.

The President Jean-Claude Juncker reacted a few days later with a speech ‘Tackling the migration crisis’ during the debate in the European Parliament on the conclusions of the Special European Council, which is available here.

Lately, different organisations – such as PICUM, the UNHCR or the ONCHR - reacted to this. They all reiterated the call for EU leaders to prioritize the human rights of migrants and refugees in the response to the current situation in the Mediterranean.

Publication Date: Thu 23 Apr 2015
Geography:
Keywords:
Main theme:
News type: