Commissioner Cecilia Malmström held meetings in Italy yesterday and has meetings in Malta today. In her meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini she suggested that any possible future migration agreement between the EU and Tripoli ”would not follow the model of the [current migration] agreement between Italy and Libya.” ANSA reported she said that while it is ”important to try and begin dialogue” with Tripoli, ”if there is an agreement, it is clear that the fundamental condition for Libya must be adherence to the Geneva Convention or the equivalent among African states ”on the rights of political refugees.”
In regard to current practices, Malmström said that the right to seek asylum should be respected even when one is already at sea. (”Bisogna comunque – ha concluso la Malmstrom – rispettare il diritto di chiedere asilo quando si e’ gia’ in mare”.)
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MIGRANTS AT SEA 