On the occasion of the 33rd ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary assembly in Malta a conference on the security situation in Sahelo-Saharan region takes place: ambiance shots of the meeting and&nbsp;statement by Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU)

conference

Malta

ENGEL, Frank (EPP, LU)

33rd ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (T)

33rd ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary assembly - The security situation in Sahelo-Saharan region

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/14626059/I140608Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

Exterior shots at St. Julian's Port in Malta (5 shots)

Atmosphere shots during the meeting on the security situation in the Sahel-Sahara region; EP delegates and African parliament delegates attending the meeting (9 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), <p>The Sahel&rsquo;s zone states are chronically weak, we might help them and support them but these are enormous states; we don&rsquo;t find these dimensions in Europe, Chad or Niger are millions of square kilometres, Niger is twice as France, with very few inhabitants, obviously with very few security forces and with very few means to effectively control the territories, to administrate, to know who moves there. And all of this was of course exacerbated when Libya blew apart, because there were all those who have been recruited by colonel Gadhafi, tens of thousands, who took their weapons and who fled back into the Saharan space, and that has created a situation where none of the states can claim that they control the territory.</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), <br />We need to strengthen them, we need to see that the states become real states and obviously we need to sort of manage to administer Libya again; because as long as Libya is this imbroglio of at least three, if not more, effective warring factions; and I&rsquo;m convinced that the aim of these people is not really governing in a European-wise meaningful way. The aim of these people is to fill in their pockets, and they fill their pockets including with human trafficking. And the various interlocutors that we have now in Libya, to try and get the migration problem from the Libyan coast solved, are the ones who have an interest in these migration flows through Libya continuing.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), on Refugee Day: 'For the 65 or so million refugees across the globe it&rsquo;s refugee day every day. We would be doing those very refugees a huge service if we started patrolling the Libyan coast on the coastline.' 