Migrants: von der Leyen, the EU decides who enters, not the traffickers

Brussels, 10 December (LaPresse) – “European and African countries have joined forces, from the Netherlands to Italy, from the United Kingdom to Libya, to Ethiopia, to name but a few, and many, many others. It has been a global team effort, and that is the spirit that brings us here today. Two years ago, we committed to building a global alliance to combat migrant smuggling. And our guiding principle here in the European Union is that we Europeans decide who comes to Europe and crosses our borders and under what circumstances, not the smugglers.” This was stated by President von der Leyen in her opening speech at the second Conference of the Global Alliance against Migrant Smuggling in Brussels. Thus, over the past two years, the European Union has revised its migration policy. Just this week, after intensive work, we adopted the first ever solidarity measures. This marks the start of the implementation of our pact on migration and asylum,” she added.