- Cape Verde has become the first African Union member to sign a pilot mobility partnership, at a deal signed with the European Union yesterday.
The mobility partnerships, are designed for joint responsible management of migratory flows between EU, its partners as well as the migrants. The signing with Cape Verde is one of the only two in the pilot phase. The second signing was with the Republic of Moldova.
The signing, according to Cape Verde’s officials will not only address issues of short stays for its citizens in the European territory and vice versa, but will further help combat illegal immigration and readmission of those found to have crossed the line.
Speaking at the signing, Louis Michel, EU Commissioner responsible for development policy, said the instrument will pave way for a joint management of responsible migration between the signing parties, which will see into practice, responsible and humane setting that is beneficial to both. ,"In signing this Declaration, we are committing ourselves, together with Cape Verde, to stepping up our dialogue and our cooperation in the field of migration. I am thinking in particular of legal migration, strengthening the link between migration and development and the fight against illegal immigration,” he said.
The partnership provides for the setting up in Praia of a joint centre which will accept applications for short-stay visas, promoting improvements in the arrangements for the movement of people and legal migration, and building Cape Verde's capacity to manage migration, notably by developing a centre designed to implement measures for the information, integration and protection of migrants and returnees. There are also plans to improve the efficiency of workers' migration procedures and to develop job opportunities both in Cape Verde and abroad.
The partnership also provides for initiatives to maximise the benefits of migration for development and, in particular, to do more to enable the Cape Verdian diaspora to contribute to the development of its country of origin, notably by encouraging transfers of money and skills and facilitating circular migration and return, so as to mitigate the impact of the emigration of highly qualified individuals.
Present at the launch were, Jacques Barrot, the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for justice, freedom and security, Louis Michel, Dragutin Mate, the Slovenian Minister for Home Affairs and Livio Fernandes Lopes, the Minister for Home Affairs of the Republic of Cape Verde. The launch was in cooperation with the appropriate ministers of the EU member states concerned - Spain, France, Luxembourg and Portugal.
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