Press Advisories

14. 12. 2017 13:27

Czech PM Babiš agreed with other V4 MPs on a joint project on prevention of illegal migration

: The Prime Ministers of V4 countries met the Prime Minister of Italy Gentiloni, 14 December 2017.

Babiš and the heads of governments of the other V4 countries laid the foundations of a joint project to strengthen the protection of borders and to prevent illegal migration in Libya. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will also join the negotiations of leaders of the Visegrad Group held today in Brussels.

“Today we have agreed with other V4 prime ministers on an important project which reflects long-term priorities of the Central European region in the area of illegal migration. Our joint initiative will be focused on Libya – the country through which hundred thousands of illegal migrants are streaming these days and which is a gateway to Europe for migrant smugglers,” said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

The V4 initiative to help Libya will be carried out under the leadership of Italy. A contribution of V4 will be made to EU Trust Fund for Africa, to which the Czech Republic contributed €1.66 million so far. The joint project of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia builds on the conceptual approach of our region to dealing with migration crisis that is based on a strong engagement in the countries of origin and transit & prevention of illegal migration.

The topic of illegal migration will dominate also informal discussions that will to be held by EU leaders later today. In the debate with other European leaders, the Czech PM will emphasize the need to address the causes rather than the consequences of migration. In his speech, he is going to call for a consistent fight against migrant smugglers and effective protection of the external EU borders.

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