The group comprising Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, and Spain, known as MED5, held its first meeting on Saturday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since the European Parliament gave the green light to the new Migration and Asylum Pact. This is the first time in its history that it has convened outside the Mediterranean.
The five countries, which constitute the southern border of Europe and bear the brunt of immigration efforts, have urged the European Union to move beyond primarily “reactive” policies. They aim to include more efforts in preventing flows at the source and in returns.
