The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Albrecht Boeselager, went to Brussels on 9 February last for a series of meetings with the European Union leaders, including the Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Kristalina Georgieva.

The main topic of the meetings was the refugee crisis, the consequent humanitarian emergency and Europe’s role in the management and reception of migratory flows.

Albrecht Boeselager met the leaders of the two European Union bodies dealing with humanitarian-aid projects and disaster response: ECHO (European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department) and DEVCO (Commissioner’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development), including the ECHO Director General Monique Pariat.

During the visit the Order of Malta’s Grand Chancellor, who also met the Secretary General of the European Parliament Klaus Welle, illustrated the main initiatives for providing support and healthcare to refugees, not only in the transit and destination countries but also in those bordering Syria, the departure point for most of the migratory flows attempting to reach the gates of Europe, often by means of extremely dangerous journeys.