The European Commission (EC) is ready to allocate an additional €110 million in 2023 to address the problems associated with migration, reads a letter sent by Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to the heads of state and government of the EU countries in anticipation of the community summit, which will be held in Brussels on March 23-24, Report informs referring to TASS.
“A terrible shipwreck off the coast of Calabria has become a clear reminder that it is necessary to act without delay. A fair decision is possible only with a pan-European balanced approach,” Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.
“Given the growing migration pressure, the European Commission is ready to mobilize an additional €110 million in 2023 for projects in North Africa in addition to the €208 million already allocated, including to combat smuggling of migrants,” reads the text.
The migration issue has long been a stumbling block among the EU countries. The greatest burden of receiving arrivals by sea falls on the southern European countries: Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, which are subject to the provision of the Dublin agreements on the need to provide reception in the country of arrival. At the same time, many people arriving from African and Asian countries are economic migrants and tend to the Nordic countries.