The Valletta Summit on Migration, also called the Valletta Conference on Migration, was a summit held in Valletta, Malta, on 11–12 November 2015, in which European and African leaders discussed the European migrant crisis. The summit resulted in the EU setting up an Emergency Trust Fund to promote development in Africa, in return for African countries to help out in the crisis.
The summit was held at three venues in Valletta. The opening ceremony was held at Auberge de Castille, while the Mediterranean Conference Centre hosted the main conference. Fort Saint Elmo was used as a media centre. The summit was the largest one ever hosted in Malta, with around 4,000 people attending. The summit was held a few weeks before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015, which was also held in Malta.
Background
The European migrant crisis began when large numbers of migrants and refugees from various countries came to the European Union and applied for asylum. The term "crisis" has been widely used since April 2015, when a number of boats carrying migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people. Following the shipwreck of 19 April, the European Council held a meeting to discuss the situation of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Among the decisions made during this meeting, EU leaders agreed to increase dialogue with the African Union and other countries involved in the migrant crisis by holding a summit in Valletta, Malta.
The summit was meant to include leaders of the countries of origin, transit or destination of the migrants. The heads of state and government of EU member states, the African Union Commission, the ECOWAS Commission, and states parties to the Khartoum Process and the Rabat Process were all invited to the summit, as were the Secretary-General of the United Nations and representatives from the International Organization for Migration.
The summit
The Valletta Summit began with an opening ceremony in front of Auberge de Castille, the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. A monument was unveiled for the occasion. After the ceremony was over, the leaders were transferred to the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
The summit itself began at 6:30 p.m. with a speech by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. On the first day, the leaders discussed a situation in which African countries would help to reduce migration across the Mediterranean, with the EU giving Africans better access to Europe in return. According to Muscat, the meeting was "less confrontational than expected".
On 12 November, the European and African leaders signed an agreement to set up an Emergency Trust Fund to help development in African countries as well as to encourage those countries to take back migrants who arrived in Europe. The fund pledged €1.8 billion in aid, with other development assistance of €20 billion every year. The leaders also pledged action to improve the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Lake Chad and other parts of Africa to reduce the flow of refugees. They also promised to promote regular migration channels and implement policies for integrating migrants into society.
The summit ended with a Final Declaration and an Action Plan. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, said that the migrant crisis was a "race against time" to save the Schengen Agreement.
Aftermath An informal summit of EU leaders was held just after the Valletta Summit ended. The key points discussed included the threat to the Schengen Area, securing Europe's external border and relations with Turkey.
In July 2016, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Carmelo Abela announced that the Maltese government is planning a follow-up meeting to the Valletta Summit.
Participants The leaders who took part in the Valletta Summit are listed in the table below. Sudan was represented by its foreign minister as President Omar al-Bashir could not travel to Malta due to an international arrest warrant. Poland was only represented by an undersecretary of state due to a clash with the first sitting of the country's new parliament. + Countries Member Represented by Title Edi Rama Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal Prime Minister Werner Faymann Chancellor Charles Michel Prime Minister Thomas Boni Yayi President - Dragan Covic Chairman of the Presidency Ian Khama President Rosen Plevneliev President Michel Kafando President Pierre Nkurunziza President Jorge Carlos Fonseca President Daniel Emery Dede Ambassador to the European Union Idriss Déby President Jean-Claude Gakosso Minister of Foreign Affairs Alassane Ouattara President Vesna Pusić Deputy Prime Minister Socrates Chasikos Minister for Interior Milos Zeman President Lars Løkke Rasmussen Prime Minister Hassan Omar Mohamed Bourhano Minister for Interior Sameh Shoukry Minister for Foreign Affairs Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo President Osman Saleh Mohammed Minister for Foreign Affairs Taavi Rõivas Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn Prime Minister Sauli Niinistö President François Hollande President Ali Bongo Ondimba President Abdoulie Jose Trade Minister Angela Merkel Chancellor John Dramani Mahama President Alexis Tsipras Prime Minister Alpha Condé President Suzi Carla Barbosa Minister for Cooperation Viktor Orbán Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald Minister for Justice and Equality Matteo Renzi Prime Minister Joseph Ole Nkaissery Secretary General Edgars Rinkēvičs Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Boakai Vice President Abdourhman A. M. Alahirish Deputy Prime Minister Dalia Grybauskaitė President Xavier Bettel Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta President Joseph Muscat Prime Minister Abdalla Ahmedou Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Albert II Prince Filip Vujanovic President Salaheddine Mezouar Minister for Foreign Affairs Mark Rutte Prime Minister Mahamadou Issoufou President Abubakar Gusau Magaji Minister for Defence Erna Solberg Prime Minister Katarzyna Kacperczyk Undersecretary of State Pedro Passos Coelho Prime Minister Klaus Iohannis President Paul Kagame President of Rwanda Macky Sall President Samura Kamara Foreign Minister Andrej Kiska President Miro Cerar Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke Prime Minister Salva Kiir Mayardit President Mariano Rajoy Prime Minister Ibrahim Ghandour Minister of Foreign Affairs Stefan Löfven Prime Minister Simonetta Sommaruga President Komlan Edo Robert Dussey Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration Habib Essid Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan President David Cameron Prime Minister + Organizations Member Represented by Title European Council Donald Tusk President European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker President European Parliament Martin Schulz President African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Chairperson Economic Community of West African States Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo President Justice and Home Affairs Council Jean Asselborn Chairman/Minister European External Action Service Federica Mogherini High Representative European Commission Neven Mimica European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Council of the European Union Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen Secretary General European Asylum Support Office José Carreira Executive Director ad interim United Nations Secretariat Jan Eliasson Deputy Secretary General United Nations Secretariat Peter Sutherland Special Representative of the Secretary General for Migration and Development United Nations Development Programme Helen Clark Administrator United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres High Commissioner Union for the Mediterranean Fathallah Sijilmassi Secretary General Europol Oldřich Martinů Deputy Director of Governance Frontex Hendrik Weijermans Head of External Relations International Centre for Migration Policy Development Michael Spindelegger Director General Intergovernmental Authority on Development Fathia Alouan Interpol Jürgen Stock Secretary General International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Garry Conille Under Sec. Gen. Programme and Operation International Organization for Migration William L. Swing Director General Talal Shubailat Ambassador, League of Arab States Representative Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Michaëlle Jean Secretary General Stefano Ronca Diplomatic Counsellor to the Grand Chancellor Norwegian Refugee Council Valerie Ceccherini EU Advocacy Adviser MADE AFRICA Odile Faye Coordinator
Monument
A monument commemorating the summit was erected in Valletta's Castille Square, which had just been refurbished. The monument is called The Knot, and it symbolizes unity between Europe and Africa, as well as Malta's geographic position between the two continents. The monument was designed by the artist Vince Briffa, and was carved from Carrara marble.
See also Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015
References
External links Action Plan of the Valletta Summit on Migration