Monday, June 21, 2021
Conversation on migration and Covid
Merkel and Draghi want to strengthen the Turkey deal
Shortly before the EU summit, Italy’s Prime Minister Draghi visits Berlin. The meeting with Chancellor Merkel is about the refugee agreement with Turkey and the pandemic. Draghi speaks out against hosting the European Championship final in London.
Mario Draghi has been Italy’s Prime Minister since mid-February, and the 73-year-old has now paid his inaugural visit to Berlin. A few days before a two-day summit of the 27 EU heads of state and government in Brussels, three topics apparently dominated the talks in the Chancellery: the refugee agreement between Turkey and the European Union, the Corona crisis and the European football championship. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Draghi commented on all three on the sidelines of their meeting.
Accordingly, Germany and Italy want to work for a rapid further development of the EU refugee agreement. “We have to open up a perspective on how this will continue,” said Merkel. Turkey is hosting a large number of refugees, more than three million, and therefore has “every right to continue to be supported by us for this”. The further development of the agreement with Turkey will be discussed at the EU summit in Brussels at the end of the week, said Merkel. Turning to Draghi, she said: “I think we both agree that without cooperation with Turkey, we will not go any further.” The Italian Prime Minister joined the Chancellor in making these statements. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had previously made a similar statement to the “Welt”.
The refugee deal between the EU and Turkey provides, among other things, that Turkey takes action against unauthorized migration to the EU and Greece can send back migrants who have illegally arrived in the Aegean Islands. In return, the EU takes on a Syrian refugee from Turkey for every Syrian sent back and supports the country financially in caring for the refugees. At the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, relations with Turkey, but also those with Russia, are to be discussed. The situation in the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recovery in EU countries should also be discussed.
“Even in football there is something in common”
With regard to the corona pandemic, Merkel called for caution despite the sharp decrease in the number of infections. There is a very fundamental improvement in the situation. “But we also know how fragile this progress is.” The vaccination rate is increasing, but one is not yet approaching herd immunity. And: “We are prone to new variants.” In the UK and Portugal, one can see how quickly the incidences could go up again. “That’s why we’re following things very closely.”
Draghi emphasized that German-Italian relations had become even closer as a result of the Corona crisis. He expressly thanked Germany for helping Germany in the first wave of the pandemic by admitting Italian patients to German hospitals.
In view of the corona situation in Great Britain, the Italian Prime Minister could imagine moving the final of the European Football Championship to Rome. You don’t make a final in a country where infections are rising rapidly, said Draghi. As for the European Championship, according to Chancellor Merkel, both agreed on certain points: “Even in football there is something in common, because we were of the opinion that Mr. Gosens is a very good player at Bergamo,” said Merkel. The Italians have not played badly either, said the Chancellor. International player Robin Gosens has played for the Italian first division club Atalanta Bergamo since 2017. In the last 4-2 victory of the German national team against Portugal, he scored a goal and was elected player of the game.
In the event that EM games are postponed due to the corona situation in England, the city of Munich is available as an alternative venue, according to Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder. “We would be happy to take another game at any time,” said the CSU boss after a meeting of the presidia and boards of the CDU and CSU.
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