On the occasion of the informal European Council meeting in Malta yesterday (12 November), and following the Valletta Summit, President Juncker provided Heads of State and Government the latest state of play of the collective actions put in place to tackle the refugee crisis since the last European Council held on 14 October.
These included updates on financial pledges, relocation and return operations, the deployment of the Civil Protection Mechanism, and the functioning of Hotspots in Greece and Italy.
President Juncker said: “Today’s Council gave us the opportunity to take stock of where we are at and where we are going. I am not at all satisfied with the pace of relocations at the moment. At this rate it will take until 2101 to relocate 160,000 people. I am very pleased to see the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia confirm they will send an extra 300 people in response to Frontex and EASO’s call for assets.”
First Vice-President Timmermans also attended the meeting and debriefed leaders on the state of play of the ongoing negotiations with Turkey on his return from Ankara.For more detail, a press release, including tables, is available online, as well as President Juncker‘s presentation to Member States on the state of play of collective actions and on Turkey specifically.
