Italian PM "satisfied" with "right direction" at EU migration summit

6/26/2018 - 4:17:36 PM

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on June 24 that he is "definitely satisfied" with the migration summit in Brussels, hailing that European leaders "have the right direction in the current debate."

Migrant boat near Italian harbor. (Photo Credits: photofilippo66 / shutterstock.com)

The prime minister expressed his satisfaction in a tweet after the summit ended, without going into detail.

When leaving the summit, his German counterpart Angela Merkel told reporters that "we are all responsible for all issues."

"That means it can not be that some care about the so-called primary migration, while the others care about the secondary migration," she said, alluding to overstretched frontline states like Italy.

The EU should offer the second tranche of €3 billion to Turkey under the cash-for-repatriation deal, and continue to provide support to the Lybian coast guard, Merkel stressed.

The EU struck the deal with Turkey in March 2016 and engaged Libyan coast guard in cracking down on migrant trafficking, following the peak year of 2015 which saw more than 1 million irregular migrants flocking to Europe.

The informal summit, convened by European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker, is expected to lay the groundwork for the formal one slated for June 28-29, when the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) will feature prominently on the agenda.

Italy has long been frustrated at bearing the brunt of the migratory pressure under the current Dublin Regulation whereby migrants lodge asylum claims in the first EU country they enter.

The simmering discontent has vaulted the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement and the nationalist League into power.

Migration has recently returned to the fore on EU agenda as a war of words broke out between France and Italy over a rescue ship loaded with over 600 migrants.

The ship eventually docked in a Spanish port after being turned away by Italy, whose new right-wing, populist coalition government has taken a hardline stance on immigration, as promised on the campaign trail.

Source: NDO

Challenges from population aging

Many countries are grappling with rapidly aging population. As population aging becomes an irreversible global trend with significant impacts on economic and social sectors, nations face the urgent task of creating flexible policies to adapt to and make the most of this trend to build prosperous and sustainable societies.

World tourism industry promotes potential and cohesion

With a series of stimulus measures, the world tourism industry is on the way to recovery as before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Facing the opportunity to take off, the "smokeless industry” is expected to strongly contribute to global economic growth while promoting potential and cohesion, contributing to peace and sustainable development.

Existential danger from COVID-19 pandemic

The danger from the COVID-19 pandemic is still latent, threatening people’s health and lives in the context that the immunity provided from the COVID-19 vaccine has decreased. Many other dangerous diseases are also likely to break out when the global vaccination rate slows down, due to inequality in access to health services, vaccine hesitancy, and consequences of economic recession.

Vietnam among ASEAN countries recording EV sales surge

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is witnessing a rise in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB Research).

International friends bid farewell to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

The respect paying ceremony for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong continued on the morning of July 26 at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi, with high-level delegations from foreign countries and international organisations paying their last respects and expressing deep condolences.

Global outpouring of grief for Vietnamese Party chief

A wave of condolences have poured in from world leaders, international organisations, rulling parties, Communist parties and partner parties following the death of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.