“The most urgent task for the next years will be to address the migratory pressures from Africa. We cannot allow the EU to stand idly by the imminent migration crisis as it did in 2015 ,” added MEP György Hölvényi to the European Parliament’s plenary debate on the implementation report of the EU Trust Funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey on Tuesday 5 October 2021. MEP György Hölvényi, Coordinator for EPP Group in the Committee on Development contributed as a co-rapporteur of the report.
In his written contribution, the KDNP MEP said: “The EU has spent nearly €7 billion through the emergency funds to address the root causes of migration from Africa; to create security in Colombia and the Central African Republic and to support Syrian refugees. Now that the new Foreign Policy Instrument, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global EuropeFund is up and running, it is time to take stock.”
The Christian Democrat politician pointed out that “the Commission should integrate the positive experiences gained from the operation of the emergency funds into the current financial framework. The new, unified foreign policy instrument must be able to provide targeted, local and more flexible support to the people in our partner countries in the areas of border protection, security, education and job creation.”
Elaborating on the content of the report, the MEP added that ” in order to be more effective, close cooperation with local churches and faith-based organisations is essential, as these organisations run the vast majority of education and health care in Africa, while also playing an important role in conflict management.”
“Greater effectiveness in development policy is an essential tool to stop migration! We cannot allow the EU to stand idly by as it did in 2015 in the face of the impending migration crisis,” he concluded.
