The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says it regrets the fact that not all Member States of the European Union have approved the Global Compact for Migration, which, in its view, presents an excellent opportunity to make progress on establishing a single EU voice on migration at global level.

In its own-initiative opinion on "The implementation of the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration based on EU values", the EESC stresses that the compact is a non-binding agreement and as such does not create any new obligations for EU Member States.

Instead, its content builds fully on the EU's core values such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights, as stipulated in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU).

"The compact is not revolutionary or radical in itself, but offers a multilateral framework for cooperation between countries of origin, transit and reception", said the rapporteur for the opinion José Antonio Moreno Díaz.

A leading voice among the EU institutions in advocating safe and orderly migration, the EESC is also seeking to enhance the institutional debate within the EU on this topic.

The pact can be a good starting point for a fact-based debate on migration, which would look at how the different attitudes of the various EU countries can be reconciled, Mr Moreno Díaz said. (ll)