The Malta Independent
Pulling out the rug
Carmelo AbelaSunday, 20 March 2016
Let's say it like it is: what we are up against is a huge, lucrative, multi-million euro
business. Last month, at the opening of its new European Migrant Smuggling
Centre in The Hague, Europol reported that in 2015 criminal gangs generated
between €3 billion and €6 billion in people-smuggling rackets. The EU
Agency's Director, Rob Wainwright, pointed out that almost 90 per cent of the more
than one million migrants who entered the EU illegally last year used a "facilitation
service" to get to Europe, in most cases provided by criminal groups.
As is the case with any business, the migrant smuggling circles seek to satisfy an
existing demand by supplying the required product or service for a good profit. Over
the past year, ruthless organised criminal networks have exploited the plight of
millions who are in search of a new life away from civil strife, terror and misery
by abusively transporting them across borders and between continents for a hefty
price. They essentially treat these people like goods, packing them
on board often unsuitable vessels, showing no concern whatsoever for their safety
and lives.
It has taken the European Union quite a while to get its act together, but we have
finally managed to at least sit around a table and focus on the
issue. Unfortunately, as the Prime Minister remarked, the deal the EU offered Turkey
is a bad one. On the other hand, the alternative is nothing and a humanitarian crisis
which nobody seems to know how to handle. The agreement does not offer
a durable solution, but it will provide some breathing space for both sides to address
the crisis.
Traffickers are in this for the money, so if we want to discourage them from pursuing
their activities further, we must render their abominable activity unprofitable. It is
essential to make this happen if we really want a durable solution to this thorny
issue, and the best way to do it is by removing the demand for their services.
The deal offered to Turkey on Friday has been branded by some as the first serious
attempt by the EU to smash the migrant smugglers' business model, at least in the
Aegean. However, we need to be extremely careful here: as happens in other
businesses, migrant smugglers will not simply throw in the towel, pack and go home
but will seek ways to adapt to the new situation. There have been reports that, faced
by the closure of the Balkan trail, traffickers are luring migrants to take alternative
routes. The International Organisation for Migration has warned that "the Libya to
Italy route is getting very, very active". Hundreds of migrants have already been
rescued at sea in the past days.
In the last meeting of EU Home Affairs Ministers in Brussels on 10 th March, Malta
cautioned against measures that will simply shift migratory pressures from the
Aegean to other routes, such as through the Adriatic Sea or the centre of
the Mediterranean. I stated that this means looking at the collateral effects of every
measure we take. It is for this reason that Malta is insisting that aid is also given
to other countries should they be adversely affected by a shift in migratory routes as
a result of the Turkish trail being blocked.
The unrelenting fight against the criminal gangs behind irregular migration must
go on without respite. We must continue addressing the root causes of irregular
migration and forced displacement. We must waste no time to implement the
measures agreed at the Valletta Summit held in Malta last November in order to
save lives, respond to and manage migration flows, and advance legal migration and
mobility possibilities.
From Malta's point of view, one of the main challenges remains the conflict
and instability in Libya, as the bulk of asylum seekers taking the central European
route depart from its shores. Although the focus at the moment is on Greece as the
main point-of-entry of unauthorised migrants into Europe, the central Mediterranean
route is still active and should not be ignored. We must leave no stone unturned to
achieve stability in Libya, in order to have a single, reliable interlocutor in this
important neighbouring country. The meeting held between Europe's major
powers on Libya's situation in the margins of a European Council on Friday was
welcome news.
No one can question the importance of properly addressing the issue of migrant
smuggling today as opposed to tomorrow, as well as to enhance the element of
solidarity in response to the ongoing migrant crisis. It is an unfortunate reality that as
things stand today the crime of migrant smuggling remains a low risk - a high-gain
option for the perpetrators. It is only the victims, or the users of the 'service' that are
confronted with a high-risk cost option, as they are enticed into spending their life
savings on a trip that may very well be their last.
Dr Abela is Minister for Home Affairs and National Security