Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1058684
24 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 DECEMBER 2018 MATTHEW VELLA THE European Commission has demanded that Member States and MEPs adopt out- standing reform proposals on migration and asylum as the EU remains stuck on a com- mon asylum policy. Frans Timmermans, the EC's vice-president, said he wants the reforms to be agreed ahead of the 2019 Eu- ropean elections, where the European right is expected to gain more seats at the ex- pense of the centre-left. "The Union's comprehen- sive approach to migration management is delivering tangible results. After four years, it is now essential to consolidate this compre- hensive approach by switch- ing from reactive ad hoc responses to completing the reforms for a sustain- able future-proof migration and asylum system. This can and should be done before the European parliamentary elections in the interest of all Member States." The EU wants to move for- ward on the Dublin Regula- tion, to find a compromise that ensures full solidarity for Member States, especially those on borders which tend to receive first-time appli- cants for asylum. The law effectively presents asylum-shopping by sending migrants that move onto sec- ondary countries back to the EU country where they came in from. High Representative Federi- ca Mogherini said the EU has helped over 34,000 people to voluntarily return to their homes, with reintegration as- sistance, and evacuated over 2,000 refugees from Libya for further resettlement. Along the Eastern Medi- terranean Route, arrivals dropped by 97% after the EU-Turkey Statement and today remain 90% less than at the peak in 2015. Along the Central Mediterranean route irregular flows have been re- duced by 80%. EUNAVFOR Med Opera- tion Sophia apprehended 151 suspected smugglers since 2015 and the Joint Investiga- tion Team's actions in Niger resulted in 221 arrests. Over €4 billion were mobilised under the EU Trust Fund for Africa, and 12 guarantee tools worth €800 million were adopted under the External Investment Plan. In September, the Commis- sion proposed to reinforce the European Border and Coast Guard further and equip the Agency with a standing corps of 10,000 border guards to ensure that Member States can rely on full EU operation- al support at all times. While compromise is still needed on some elements of the EU's asylum reform, sig- nificant progress has been made overall, with five pro- posals (Qualification Regula- tion, Reception Conditions Directive, European Asylum Agency Regulation, Eurodac Regulation, Union Resettle- ment Framework Regulation) out of the Commission's ini- tial seven proposals ready for adoption. Brussels wants asylum reforms completed before 2019 elections A 49-year-old man from Sliema was badly hurt yesterday after he was hit by a motorcycle in Floriana. The accident, which occured at around 9.30am in Triq l-Assedju l-Kbir, happened when the motor- cycle driver – a 20-year-old man from Hamrun – lost control of the vehicle, a Kymco Agility 125, and ran the victim over. The victim was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment, where his injuries were determined to be grievous in nature. Police investigations are ongoing. In a separate accident in the early hours yesterday, a man suffered severe injuries following a collo- sion in Zejtun. The accident happened in Triq il-Barrani just after midnight, when a Volkswagen Golf driven by a 27-year-old Marsaxlokk resi- dent crashed into a Vauxhall Astra driven by a 30-year-old man from Zabbar. The younger driver was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where he was found to be suffering from severe injuries. Man grievously injured after being run over by motorcycle European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans