Middle East Update: Freedom Spreads
Strasbourg -- Thursday 15 September 2011
I was pleased to see pictures on the news today of British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague in Libya.
Both were visiting a hospital in Tripoli with French President Nicholas Sarkozy - the images were a symbol of tangible progress in the country after a grueling civil war.
There is still a way to go but the visit highlights our Government's support for the National Transitional Council lead by Mustafa Abdul Jalil.
The Middle East is possibly the most challenging geo-political region on Earth at this moment in time.
There are so many problems, but equally there is so much hope. There is a real sense that freedom and democracy are making in-roads.
I find the desire for regime-change shown by ordinary people in those countries inspiring and I hope that the EU can help.
In my capacity as an MEP, I have been working to improve the EU's response to the humanitarian and migratory burdens that have resulted from the events in Libya, Egypt and other nations in the area.
In our own small way MEPs on the LIBE Committee have worked hard to shape the rhetoric and the action that is being taken to improve the human rights afforded to migrants.
Europe still represents the promised land for many people across the Middle East and North Africa.
Whilst the EU's humanitarian response has been good, I am worried that the EU's border control mechanisms are still inadequate, and as I have said before (on this website), we need a major overhaul of our approach.
That began recently with the additional powers given to FRONTEX, but it needs to continue.
Good cooperation between border forces on the ground is paramount to ensure that each entry is dealt with in an effective and uniform way, but I believe we should look at increasing the use of technology and information sharing in order to spot high risk areas.
This is an issue on which the European Parliament can take a central role.
This week, Parliament also called for an effective and credible common EU strategy for Libya, and asked Member States to refrain from taking unilateral actions or initiatives that might weaken it.
I would agree with that, but I think that, for now, both Britain and France need to continue to work together as the main drivers of change in Libya.
