Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, gives a statement on the 10-year commemoration since the tragedy in Lampedusa during the plenary session in Strasbourg. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

migration and refugees in Europe (T)

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Italy (T)

president's agenda

10-year commemoration since the tragedy in Lampedusa: Statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President on the 10-year commemoration since the tragedy in Lampedusa

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Dear colleagues, today marks ten years since the Lampedusa shipwreck, a terrible tragedy that claimed the lives over 360 people. And the sad truth is that the migrant shipwreck of 2013 has far from being an isolated tragedy. The Cemetery of the Mediterranean has claimed the lives of thousands more women, children and men since then.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The recent emergencies on the island of Lampedusa, as well as on other neighbouring countries, serve as a reminder that migration is our generation's challenge. Now, Europe must respond in a way that is fair and humane with those who are seeking protection that is firm with those who are not eligible and that is strong with criminal networks who are still exploiting the vulnerable.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Now, with only half a year before the end of our mandate, we need an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the Asylum and Migration Pact before the end of the term, and we will discuss the urgency of the packages of adoption tomorrow in this hemicycle.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The European Parliament's commitment to finding a way forward remains unwavering for all those who lost their lives, for all the victims of exploitation, for all those families never to be reunited. The European Parliament remembers them.