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LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain are requesting to all EU member states for a “permanent and mandatory solidarity” to address the migration issue and to share the burden in order to relieve the pressure from the frontline EU member states within the Mediterranean region.
The Home Affairs Ministers of the MED5 EU states met in Valletta on Saturday, and in a joint statement declared that the effective solidarity can be achieved thorugh intra-EU relocations and direct financial contributions. The MED5 states declared that the outcome of the Pact negotiations should reflect a fair balance between “solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility.” The summit was presided by the Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and attended by the Italian Home Affairs Minister Matteo Piantedosi, Greek Migration Minister Notis Mirarchi, Spanish Migration Minister Fernando Grande Marklaska and Cypriot Permanent Secretary Costas Constantinou. Attending the MED5 summit was also the Swedish Home Affairs Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. Sweden is currently presiding over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. While agreeing on the importance of the repatriation of migrants, she described the migrants situation as “complex” while referring to the recent tragedy of migrants off the Calabrian coast. The summit also included the participation of the director of EU border Agency Frontex.
The MED5 top officials agreed that during the last two years there was an increase in irregular migration, and the joint declaration appealed for concrete actions in order to prevent the trafficking of irregular migrants and avoid the loss of life at sea and the abuse of migrants by smugglers.
The joint statement suggests that the preventive measures can include a partnership with countries of origin and transit, better coordination and cooperation with third countries, addressing the causes leading to migration, allocating the necessary funds to North African countries to support the fight against irregular migration and to reinforce European border protection and to identify more safe and legal routes to reduce irregular migration.
The joint statement also asks for more continuous support from Frontex with regard to both land and air surveillance and offering member states intelligence to fight migrant smuggling.
The declaration calls for a fair migration policy which can be achieved through repatriating asylum seekers who do not qualify for asylum.

– foto Department of Information Malta –
(ITALPRESS).

KIEV (UKRAINE) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The President of Latvia Egils Levits today met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
The two leaders signed a joint statement that
ratifies Latviàs support “for full European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine,” Zelensky explained.
“It is only with Ukraine in its entirety that the
European project will become truly complete – he added, and only with Ukraine in its entirety that NATO will become a real strong defender of European nations and of all
our common values. I am grateful to the President of Latvia and to the entire Latvian people for the unwavering support for our
people and for Ukraine towards this course of
integration with the European Union and NATO”.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – By the end of 2022, 14 projects done with European Union funds in Malta were being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the European Union for allegations of fraud, corruption or money laundering.
The annual report of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office shows that Malta has the largest amount of fraud investigations among the member countries of the European Union, compared to the size of the population.
The projects that are under scrutiny have a value of 123.5 million, among which three projects are being investigated for alleged fraud related to the payment of VAT, and which between them amount to 70.5 million.
Among the other cases that are under investigation there are four regarding alleged corruption, two regarding fraud in the process of awarding the contracts (procurement) and another investigation regarding alleged money laundering.
The annual report also indicates that three investigations are about projects related to the agricultural sector and rural development, one about the maritime sector and programs related to fishing, as well as another related to mobility, transport, energy and digitization.
Among the projects being investigated is the €40 million contract linked to the Marsa Junction project, after details that became known when Yorgen Fenech’s mobile phone was confiscated.
The 14 investigations led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office mean a big leap in just one year, as in the previous year there was no open investigation against Malta.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – At the end of this week, Malta will host the Home Affairs and Immigration Ministers of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain to discuss a common position between them on immigration. The European Council of the Interior Ministers is just days away, and the five Mediterranean countries will be working to present themselves with a common position during the Council meeting. For the MED5 meeting, the Swedish Minister of Migration was also invited on behalf of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union together with the new Executive Director of the Frontex Agency.
Maltese Minister of the Interior, Security, Reform and Equality Byron Camilleri said “this is a golden opportunity for Malta to continue to be a leader in this field and to reach an agreement so that all MED5 countries have the same position at the Council of Ministers in the coming days. Malta, together with the Mediterranean countries, will continue to push for a policy that fights human traffickers and consequently reduces deaths at sea, and for a fairer policy that guarantees protection to those who really deserve it, while people who do not deserve to remain in the Union will be returned to their country.”

– foto Department of Information Malta –
(ITALPRESS).

ATHENS (GREECE) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Several protests are taking place in Greece due to the train crash in which 43 people died and 72 were injured. Local media reported that more than 10 people are still missing as Greece observes three days of national mourning.
The families provided DNA samples to help in the identification efforts, with the results expected on Thursday. Rescuers are still going through burnt and deformed carriages, looking for the victims.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s reaction that “tragic human error” was to blame for the incident caused great anger. Many see it as a long overdue incident.
The protests took place in front of the headquarters of the company responsible for the maintenance of the Greek railways, Hellenic Train. Other protests were also held in Thessaloniki and in the city of Larissa, near where the disaster occurred on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, demonstrators clashed with police outside the headquarters of Hellenic Train in Athens.
The Greek government has said that an independent investigation is underway to bring justice. Meanwhile, the Greek transport minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned. He resigned after visiting the scene of the tragedy stating that he cannot continue as if nothing had happened.
Most of the 350 passengers on board were 20-year-old students returning to Thessaloniki after a weekend celebrating Greek Orthodox Lent.
A station chief from Larissa, 59, was charged with manslaughter. He denied these allegations and blamed it on a technical failure.
Members of the railway unions believed that the railways’ safety systems were not working properly and said that there had been repeated warnings about this situation for many years.
Meanwhile, railway workers across Greece have begun a one-day strike that has blocked national rail services and the Athens Metro.

– photo Freepik –

(ITALPRESS).

NEW DELHI (ITALPRESS/MNA) – According to international reports, the meeting of foreign ministers in India of the G20; the group of 20 industrialized and developing countries ended in New Delhi without a joint statement about the war in Ukraine.
In the meeting “most of the members” of the G20 “condemned firmly the war in Ukraine” and stressed that “it is causing immense human suffering and aggravating the existing fragility of the global economy: limiting growth,
rising inflation, rising energy and food insecurity and increasing the risks to financial stability”.
China has joined Russia in refusing to sign the
statement by the Foreign Ministers, meeting at the G20, that also called on Moscow to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
-photo agenziafotogramma.it-
(ITALPRESS).

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Migration, the situation in Africa and food security were high on the agenda during an official meeting between the President of Malta, George Vella and the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.
Both head of States held talks at A’ras an Uachtaràin, the official residence and office of the President of Ireland, at the beginning of a three-day State visit to Ireland.
During the bilateral meeting, President Vella and President Higgins highlighted Maltàs priorities in the United Nations Security Council, neutrality, climate change, and the latest developments in the war in Ukraine, the Mediterranean, Africa, migration, as well as food security.
The President of Malta said that the Irish President is very interested in the developments in Africa, how the war in Ukraine can affect hunger in Africa.
President Vella and President Higgins discussed deeply the war in Ukraine. In this context, the two Presidents spoke about neutrality because, like Malta, Ireland is a neutral country.
They also discussed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and areas for future cooperation.
In Dublin, President Vella had a separate meeting with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. The discussion between President Vella and Prime Minister Varadkar also focused on similarities between the two countries, climate change, Africa, and war and peace in Ukraine.

– foto Department of Information Malta –

(ITALPRESS).

HELSINKI (FINLAND) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Finnish Parliament gave its final approval for NATO membership. 184 voted in favour, 7 voted against.
The decision needs to be signed and endorsed into law by the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
Turkey and Hungary, are the only two NATO members among the 30 member countries of the Atlantic Alliance that have not yet voted to rectify the membership.
Finland, together with Sweden, has initiated the process to join NATO after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine described as “a genocidal war” by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

– photo Agenziafotogramma.it –

(ITALPRESS).