Italy PM, Germany's Schulz Call for Stricter Rules on Migrants

By Silvia Marchetti

     ROME (MNI)  - Italy's premier Paolo Gentiloni and Germany's Social Democrat

Party (SPD) chairman Martin Schulz called on Thursday for a greater

burden-sharing approach and stricter rules at European level to tackle the

migrant crisis.

     Speaking at a joint press conference at the end of a bilateral meeting in

Rome, Gentiloni said "a common commitment was needed in Europe" and that Italy

"could not accept that the migratory challenge be left on the shoulders of

single countries simply for geographical reasons".

     "Europe is loyal to its ideals only if it implements a common migration

policy", that also includes a plan for investments in African origin countries

to prevent migrants from fleeing in the first place, Gentiloni said. 

     Schulz called for the adoption of "binding rules and actions" to force all

European countries to take part in the relocation process of incoming migrants

as part of a wider European cooperation and "sustainable solidarity".

     "European cooperation is a great principle of Europe's policy. It is

unacceptable that a country is left alone, and risks for the whole union stem

from the absence of binding relocation and repatriation rules of migrants," said

Schulz, who is touring European capitals to rally support ahead of the September

German vote.

     All countries in the world, like the US, have clear rules on migration that

are needed also at European level, argued Schulz.

     Schulz, who has made migration issues a cornerstone of his electoral

campaign, warned that it was dangerous to convey to public opinion the message

that decisions at European level were taken only at the last-minute, when "the

burden (of migrants) becomes excessive for a single country to bear alone".

     "The status quo of the European union must change: net contributors to the

European budget must not be left alone when handling migrants, while there are

net beneficiary members that just receive funds without doing their fair share

in dealing with the emergency", said Schulz.

     The SPD chairman pledged to boost Italy-Germany ties if he succeeds as

chancellor to Angela Merkel: "There is not just the strong relationship between

Germany and France, but also Italy is a crucial partner we need".

     Gentiloni and Schulz also called for a rapid completion of the banking

union and more growth-oriented measures to support Europe's economic recovery.

--MNI Paris Bureau; tel: +33 1-42-71-55-41; email: jack.duffy@marketnews.com

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