The 6th Summit of the member states of the MED5 group is underway, which is being held in Thessaloniki, focusing, at a critical moment, on the difficult issues of immigration.

“Greece is the protagonist. And it must play a leading role, especially in dealing with the big problem, which is illegal trafficking and the immigration challenge as a whole, because it is at the forefront of immigration pressure as a country of first reception together with the neighboring countries of the rest of the European south” he told APE-MPE , shortly before the start of the session, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Dimitris Kairides.

“In this context”, he explained, “today’s 6th session of the MED5 group is being held, with Spain which has the presidency this semester, Italy which has been at the center of this surge in migration flows with all the issues from Tunisia, Lampedusa and of course Malta and Cyprus. Cyprus, which despite its small size has the largest number of asylum seekers as a percentage of the native population in Europe”.

Mr. Kairides underlined that the problems are common, which is why, as he said, “even more cooperation and coordination is needed in order for Europe to obtain a common, unified and therefore effective migration policy”.

On the occasion of the immigration reform developments, last Wednesday in Brussels, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum noted: “Indeed we have made great progress recently in reaching a final agreement on the new Migration Pact despite the reactions of some former Eastern European countries , but at the same time we have increased problems, which we must quickly deal with. Immigration, a very difficult, complex problem, which threatens the very European idea and unity, which is why we owe – and European citizens demand – to provide realistic, effective solutions without shouting or naivety”.

During today’s Summit, the ministers responsible for migration will discuss the current developments in migration, both in the Mediterranean and more broadly in Europe.

The Summit aims to strengthen the cooperation between the ME5 states on the burning issue of immigration and the further harmonization of their positions in the difficult and critical negotiation for the European Pact on Migration and Asylum (Migration Pact).

The work of the Synod was opened by the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, while the Commissioner for Internal Affairs of the European Commission, Ylva Johansson, delivered a greeting, with her taped message. Last night, Mr. Kairides hosted an official dinner for his counterparts.

At the end of the work of the session, the issuance of a joint statement by the five ministers is expected, while a joint press conference is scheduled for one in the afternoon.

In particular, the following participate in the Synod:

– The Minister of Migration and Asylum of Greece, Dimitris Kairides, who also chairs the Synod,

– Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande Marlasca Gomet, whose country is at the helm of the EU this semester,

– The Minister of the Interior of Italy, Matteo Piandedosi

– The Minister of the Interior of Cyprus, Konstantinos Ioannou, and

– Malta’s Minister of the Interior, Byron Camillieri.