Commissioner Malmström: Living conditions in Libyan detention centres “are horrible”

The European Commission and Libya have signed an agreement on migration cooperation. The agreement was signed on 5th October in Tripoli during a visit by Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood policy.

It is a Cooperation agenda between the European Commission and Libya, including concrete steps on border surveillance system, mobility-related issues, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and dialogue on refugees and international protection.

"Libya is one of the portals into Europe for people who are fleeing or seeking a better life. Therefore we need to agree on good terms for cooperation, and to ensure the respect for fundamental rights throughout the whole asylum and migration process", said Commissioner Malmström.

The purpose of the Libya visit was to discuss bilateral issues with the Libyan authorities, with a special focus on migration. An estimated 1,5 million people on the run or in pursuit of a better life are currently staying in Libya.

''It is my objective to put the protection of fundamental rights of all people involved in migratory and asylum flows at the centre of our efforts in the EU relationship with Libya. The Cooperation Agenda will enable us also to promote initiatives aimed at better protecting and assisting the rights of migrants and refugees,” Commissioner Malmström said.

EU Member States have previously underlined the need for closer cooperation with the countries from which many people come to Europe. The new agreement includes, apart from issues concerning asylum and international protection, that the EU should support Libya in trying to build up a system for labour migration, that tougher measures should be taken on smugglers of human beings, and to develop the Libyan border control. For a period of three years, the EU offers 50 million euro in projects within the framework of this cooperation plan.

Cecilia Malmström also visited a detention centre in the desert by the Libyan southern border. "Many people are being found in the desert, often after having been left there by smugglers. Those who succeed in reaching Libyan ground are being rescued, but they often get stuck in detention centres waiting on being allowed to move on. And the living conditions in those centres are horrible. With our new EU-Libya agreement, I hope that we can contribute to improving the situation for these people and make sure that those who need to come to Europe for international protection will be able to do that", said Commissioner Malmström.

Commissioner Füle welcomed the agreement saying it “is an important first step to solve the serious challenge irregular migration poses not only to Libya but also to the EU. This step is part of the much broader relationship we are trying to build together. It was clear from our talks in Tripoli that both EU and Libya have at heart to sustain the new momentum in our relationship over recent months."

The EU and Libya also discussed the establishment of an informal group of senior officials that would oversee the implementation of the list of possible initiatives in the field of migration cooperation. The proposed initiatives will be implemented through a variety of means, ranging from the sharing of experience and best practices, as well as financing of actions, including the acquisition of equipment in accordance with applicable rules.

Former Labour MP Lord Hutton calls for an end to final salary public sector pensions

The Government appears to be on a collision course with the unions after a report was published calling for an end to final salary pension schemes for public sector workers.

Former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Hutton said long-term structural reform was needed to public sector pensions, including an end to the current final salary schemes.

He called for a new model of pensions to be introduced that shared the risk more fairly between the Government and workers.

But he ruled out replacing final salary pensions with individual funded defined contribution ones - under which the employee bears all the risk - as has happened in much of the private sector.

Lord Hutton said he would consider a range of alternatives in his final report, including a career average scheme, under which pensions are based on a worker's average pay during their career, rather than their salary immediately before they retire.

Other options include hybrid schemes, which share the risk, and collective or notional defined contribution pensions.

He added that if the Government wanted to make short-term savings, it should raise pension contribution rates for workers.

But he stressed that it should protect the low-paid from the increases and not hike rates for the armed forces at this time.

Lord Hutton was commissioned to carry out the review by Chancellor George Osborne, who warned that the "unsustainable" rise in the annual bill for public sector schemes must be tackled.

Lord Hutton said he did not want to see "good, decent people" facing poverty in retirement, but he stressed that the problem could not be "buried" any longer because of the problems being stored up.

By The Press Association

Italy’s biggest migrant detention centre not safe, doesn’t fully respect human dignity

Italy’s biggest migrant detention centre should be closed down because it doesn’t fully respect human dignity, Prefect of Rome Giuseppe Pecoraro has said.

Mr. Pecoraro told the Parliamentary Schengen Committee that Ponte Galeria Identification and Expulsion Centre is not a dignified place to detain people.

He said he had asked the Home Affairs Minister Roberto Maroni to transfer the detainees to other locations.

Mr. Pecoraro said Ponte Galeria Identification and Expulsion Centre is an old and insecure building. It currently hosts 366 people, 176 men and 190 women. This year more than 1727 immigrants have been detained at the facility, mainly Nigerians, Romanians and Moroccans.

The Prefect said the detention facility has serious problems. “It’s an oppressive structure,” he said. Since the people hosted there should not feel like they are in prison, Mr. Pecoraro said there was need of striking a balance between the need for security and respect for human dignity.

He called for establishment of modern detention centres such as those in Bari and Bologna.

It’s not the first time that Ponte Galeria Identification and Expulsion Centre is coming under attack. On 2nd February this year, a report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) revealed that services in Italy’s migrant centres were insufficient, deteriorating, and didn’t meet basic standards. The report revealed that most basic essentials like blankets, toilet paper or adequate heating systems were missing from the Ponte Galeria Identification and Expulsion Centre.

On 9th March last year, Councillors Anna Evelina Pizzo and Ivano Peduzzi of Lazio Region who visited the detention centre reported that they were barred from visiting some sections of the facility and denied a chance of interviewing detainees.

Councillor Pizzo described Ponte Galeria Identification and Expulsion Centre as a place where all rights are suspended. “It is a grey area, a no man’s land where there is no law, apart from the law of the one commanding.”

Councillor Pizzo said that whoever enters that place doesn’t have rights which prisoners are entitled to. They are stripped off their dignity.

By Stephen Ogongo Ongong’a

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Particular attention to be paid to advancing co-operation on migration issues

Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Home Affairs, and Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, have travelled to Libya to meet representatives of the Libyan government to discuss the state of bilateral relations, two years after the start of negotiations on an EU-Libya Framework Agreement.

Particular attention will be paid to advancing the EU-Libya co-operation on migration issues, particularly improving the protection of refugees but also border control, co-operation with countries of origin etc.

Before leaving for Tripoli, Commissioner Füle said: “Over the past three years, relations between the EU and Libya have developed well. We share important common interests in areas such as trade, energy and the security and development of Africa." Commissioner Malmström added that: "Developing a balanced cooperation with Libya on all dimensions of migration is an important priority for the EU.”

At the European Councils of June and October 2009, European leaders underlined the need for a significant strengthening of cooperation with the main countries of origin and transit of irregular migration in the Mediterranean region and invited the Commission to explore concrete cooperation with third countries. The visit of Commissioners Malmström and Füle is intended to conclude the process of negotiations with Libya on an ambitious and multi-dimensional ‘cooperation agenda’, covering all aspects related to migration.

This agenda is intended to cover issues ranging from border security to protection of migrants, mobility among the parties and increased cooperation with countries of origin in Africa. The Commission’s delegation also intends to get a better understanding of the challenges faced by Libya in the fight against trafficking of human beings, and in the fight against illicit trafficking and terrorism at its southern borders.

In November 2008 the Commission and Libya launched negotiations for an EU-Libya Framework Agreement providing for political dialogue and cooperation on foreign policy and security issues; for a free trade area as deep and comprehensive as possible; and for cooperation in key areas of common concern such as energy, transport, migration, visa, justice and home affairs, environment and other topics like maritime policy and fisheries, education and health.

The Commission said that negotiations are making good progress. The eighth negotiation session took place recently in Brussels while the ninth round is scheduled to take place in mid November in Tripoli.

In the context of the development of relations with Libya, the Commission and Libya have agreed in June 2010 on a Memorandum of Understanding providing for EU technical assistance and cooperation for the period from 2011 to 2013. This programme will focus on three priorities: improving the quality of human capital, in particular supporting health reform; increasing the sustainability of economic and social development, in particular supporting trade reform and the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); and addressing jointly the challenge of managing migration.

To support the expanding list of bilateral activities, the Commission has also decided to open an Office in Tripoli. This Office, which should become operational in early 2011, should remain under the authority of the EU Delegation in Tunis.