EU leaders approve plan to curb migration from Libya, Africa – by Daniela Vincenti

EU leaders rubber stamped a plan to curb migration from Libya at an informal summit in Malta today (3 February), offering Tripoli €200 million to better control its borders.

“We managed to achieve progress and unity,” said Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The deadly route across the Central Mediterranean is now the main gateway to Europe, with some 181,000 arrivals in 2016. It is run by smugglers who operate with impunity in Libya, which slid into chaos after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

EU leaders agreed on immediate operational measures that should help reduce the number of irregular migrants and save lives of those who attempt to risk the journey through the Central Mediterranean route.

Since the start of the decade, over 13,000 irregular migrants have lost their lives trying to cross through that route.

The plan agreed in Malta is supposed to train, equip and support Libyan coastguards to stop people smugglers and increase search and rescue operations, which in the last two years has saved over 400,000 lives.

“We will deliver economic assistance to local communities in Libya to improve their situation, and help them shelter stranded migrants,” said European Council President Donald Tusk, speaking to journalists after the meeting.

The EU will work in close cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency to step up voluntary returns from Libya to countries of origin.

Read more: EU leaders approve plan to curb migration from Libya, Africa – EurActiv.com

EU leaders forced to unite in new Trump reality - by Eszter Zalan

United We Stand Divided We Fall

EU leaders pledged the need for unity and for Europe to stand on its own two feet at their meeting in Valletta on Friday (3 February), during a discussion on how to handle US president Donald Trump, whom EU council chief Donald Tusk described earlier this week as a "threat" to the EU.

Leaders emphasized the importance of the transatlantic relationship, and said they would work together with Trump on common interests, but move toward more independent European action on issues where the EU and the US administration disagree.

"We work on the basis of our shared values, [...] there are areas where we agree, like fighting international terrorism, and where we don’t agree," German chancellor Angela Merkel said after lunch, which summed up the mood toward Trump among EU leaders after a turbulent week of heavy criticism from Europe and concern over the US president's first days in office.

Merkel said that this is an opportunity for Europe to redefine itself and become more self-reliant. 

"The general debate concentrated on where we stand, we have to act together," Merkel said, adding that it could lead to boosting investment in defense capabilities in the EU but also in Germany. "We have our destiny in our own hands."

Some EU leaders heavily criticised Donald Trump's decision to ban refugees and people arriving to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Others, like Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban ( whose country represents the new face of corruption in Europe), slammed those who criticized Trump. Before arriving at the Valletta summit, Orban said that the US has the right to decide its own border control policy, and that he is puzzled at the "neurotic European reactions" over the travel ban.

Read more: EU leaders forced to unite in new Trump reality