to welcome the additional measures that the Joint Communication has brought to strengthen initiatives along the Central Mediterranean migration route, including in and around Libya;
to underscore the need to strengthen local communities in Libya, in line with the Malta Declaration by the members of the European Council on the external aspects of migration and to reiterate the need for serious engagement with the Libyan authorities to ensure that conditions in centres for migrants are improved, paying particular attention to vulnerable persons and minors and in close cooperation with IOM and UNHCR;
to underline the need for continuous support for capacity building in migration management for Libya's local and national authorities;
to encourage promoting border cooperation, dialogue and exchange of information between Libya and its southern neighbours;
to reiterate that migration and development policies are closely linked. International, national, regional and local cooperation is crucial for making a common European migration policy a reality, in line with the European Agenda for Migration.
See pages 11-17 of the follow-up report drafted by the European Commission: https://cor.europa.eu/en/our-work/Documents/Opinions/76th-Report_CoR-Follow-up-opinions-July-2017.pdf
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
welcomes the additional measures that this Joint Communication has brought to strengthen initiatives along the Central Mediterranean migration route, including in and around Libya;
underlines the added value of the measures announced in the communication: expanding training programmes for the Libyan Coast Guard, ensuring sustainable sources of funding to cover training needs in the future, taking firm action to step up the fight against smugglers and traffickers and providing incentives for the participation of Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt in the Seahorse Mediterranean Network to ensure sub-regional buy-in;
welcomes stepping up work and engagement with Libyan municipalities to promote alternative livelihoods and support the resilience of local communities hosting migrants and stresses that properly designed migration policies could contribute to alternative livelihoods and higher quality institutions in the long term – thereby addressing some of the root causes of migration from within;
reiterates the need for serious engagement with the Libyan authorities to ensure that conditions in centres for migrants are improved, paying particular attention to vulnerable persons and minors;
welcomes the recognition of local and regional authorities as important actors in solving and managing migration issues, saving lives and fighting crime; at the same time recognises that the capacity of local authorities along the Central Mediterranean route are not well developed. Local authorities must have the tools to assess the most urgent needs of different migrant groups, particularly unaccompanied children and adolescents, and women;
advocates programmes to contribute to strengthening, empowering and rendering more effective local governance in Libya and other countries along the Central Mediterranean route by focusing on three dimensions of local governance: management, service delivery and participation;
acknowledges that the tragedy starts in the countries of origin, not in the sea. Thus encourages the EU to contribute to local economic development in the countries along the Central Mediterranean route by supporting municipalities in their role of local development actors.