Mogherini Supports EU Migration Summit's Call to Work With Transit Countries

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday voiced her support for a call, made at the European Union's recent informal summit on migration, to develop partnerships with key transit countries, but pointed at the need for "adequate resources."

"The external work on managing migration flows in these last couple of years has been based on strong partnerships, first of all with the United Nations, the IOM, the UNHCR, but also with our African partners, the African Union, the countries of origin and transit, and it has proven to be important to bring results… I think that it is useful if member states realize that this work on the external side needs resources and this is what member states, I think, are for at this stage," Mogherini told reporters when asked about the outcomes of the talks.

The diplomat stressed the need to have "adequate resources" to invest in development projects as well as in partnership with countries of origin and transit to manage migration flows in "the humane and sustainable manner."

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Some of the leaders from 16 EU member states, who attended the summit, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, stressed the necessity to cooperate with key countries of migrants' origin and transit to tackle irregular migration and its root causes.

European countries have been experiencing a large-scale migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These migrants are trying to reach EU states through various routes, including via Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.

In June 2016, the European Council adopted a new migration partnership framework to fight irregular migration in joint work with key countries of origin and transit, including Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Ethiopia.