Antonio TAJANI, EP President, and Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, open the 6th Summit of Speakers of Euromed Parliaments (Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean), in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Extracts from the opening statements.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

Strasbourg

meeting

speech

AVRAMOPOULOS, Dimitris (EL, EC)

Parliamentary Assembly of Union for the Mediterranean (T)

6th Summit of Speakers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean: extracts from the opening remarks by Antonio TAJANI, EP President, and Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC

Arrival of Antonio TAJANI, EP President. Greetings to Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC. Atmosphere shots before the meeting starts (5 shots)

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, We need the cooperation of other countries because this is an expensive and complicated policy and it's a controversial policy, designed to solve the problem of migration. We are fighting hard against human traffickers. A blacklist of those organizations who deal in human beings matters has been established, as we have a black list of people who traffic in weapons and drugs.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Our society needs to respect other people's cultures, as the people who arrive respect our culture. We need to offer respect but also call upon those who join us to respect our values. I'm referring to European countries but also the countries of North Africa where there are migratory flows coming from sub-Saharan Africa and there are countries such as Jordan who have welcomed many migrants and refugees. It is of utmost importance that the people arriving respect the rules and customs of the countries they arrive in.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Thanks to the intense cooperation with other members of the presidential board, we have been able to act quickly to obtain key results. But there is still a lot on our plate. We need to launch a process of cooperation across Europe and the Mediterranean and in so doing we will ensure stability in a crucial area for world peace.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, It is only through strong cooperation, reciprocal commitments and equal partnerships that we can ensure stability and prosperity for the benefit of our citizens on both sides of the Mediterranean. Not only cooperation among the governments but also those who represent directly our citizens: the parliaments.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, We need to see and understand these movements, not to stop them, because we cannot stop them, but to better manage them. We need a system that is based on the principles of shared responsibility and solidarity towards the migratory challenges. And that at the same time is sustainable in the long run because we don't know what the future is holding for us. Such a system has to be developed in all partner countries as well as at the global level. 