Commissioner Várhelyi participate in a ministerial conference of EU Member States and African Partners

On Monday, Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, will join the Ministers of Interior of France, Germany, Italy, Malta, and Spain as well as their counterparts from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia in a conference on countering migrant smuggling. The Conference is hosted by Italy. Reducing human suffering, the exploitation of vulnerable people and the loss of lives at sea remains the moral imperative and a common challenge for both EU Member States and partner countries. Smuggling networks also pose security threats and fuel instability. The conference will strengthen mutual engagement in preventing and combatting migrant smuggling. The EU addresses this topic in its regular dialogues on migration with African partner countries, including to take forward the 2015 EU Action Plan against Migrant Smuggling. The EU continues to support North African partners on the shared challenges of migration, including through the North of Africa window of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. EU action in North Africa includes a regional capacity-building programme with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to combat the criminal networks involved in the trafficking and smuggling of human beings. As part of the EU's comprehensive and balanced engagement with its partners on all aspects of migration, the upcoming New Pact on Migration and Asylum will propose ways to strengthen collaboration with partner countries. A press conference will follow at +/- 12.30 CET and will be available to stream on EbS.