Building walls, borders not European way of dealing with migration: Mogherini

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini hinted on Wednesday that EU would not resort to building walls and borders to resolve migration issues.

Addressing a meeting on the Joint Valletta Action Plan, Mogherini said "With this gathering, we are reaffirming our firm belief that migration can only be managed effectively through cooperation and partnership. Building walls and borders is not the European way of dealing with the issues."

"Europe does not, and will not, close its doors," she stated, adding that "We will continue to work with our partners to manage migration in a fair, humane and effective way because this is the European way of dealing with migration."

Mogherini also said the EU would opt for solid long-term solutions over short-term policies.

The loss of 4,500 lives in 2016 on the Central Mediterranean route was a strong indication that a lot more needs to be done to tackle the problem, she added.

"We will not rest until this number is down to zero," Mogherini said, "We realize those are people, not numbers, and that behind them are real stories of family members, relatives and friends who very often do not even know the fate of their loved ones."

Malta's Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella stated that a number of countries had recently launched or introduced awareness campaigns on migration within their own countries and this was a positive step forward.

He mentioned that the benefits of a legal migratory route needed to be studied and highlighted and the two-day debate would continue to build on Europe's cardinal principles of dialogue and participation.

The main aim of the ongoing Senior Officials Meeting is for the European Union to strengthen the mainstreaming of migration within its Official Development Assistance for Africa. Enditem