Malta backs German proposal to set up reception camps in N. Africa

The government is backing a German proposal to set up reception camps in North Africa to filter immigration from the rest of the continent.

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg yesterday said in an interview on Radio 101 that the government was co-ordinating all its efforts as a member of the European Union to ensure that the problem of illegal immigration was acknowledged as a European problem.

The controversial camp idea is expected to be discussed by the EU's big five - Italy, Germany, France, the UK and Spain - in Florence in mid-October.

The proposal is expected to be a priority for the EU after Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner-designate Rocco Buttiglione backed calls for the common border-control service.

The idea was also broached during a meeting between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last week.

Italy has claimed that up to two million people are preparing to cross Libya before trying to reach European shores by sea.

The plan is seen as a possibility to save lives by forestalling many dangerous crossings of the Mediterranean, and could be part of a strategy for controlled, legal migration into European countries, whose economies need a large supply of immigrant labour.

Dr Borg underlined the domestic problem being posed by irregular immigration and stressed the importance of Malta taking action against those who did not deserve protection.

Malta, he said, was one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and simply could not absorb an inflow of illegal immigrants.

Dr Borg said he would soon be meeting his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Pisanu in connection with the meeting between Col. Gaddafi and Mr Berlusconi.

Italy will conduct joint patrolling of the Libyan coast, with Libya, to stop the flow of illegal immigration from Africa.

Pointing out that the problem of illegal migration was costing the government around Lm1 million a year (including the costs of repatriation), Dr Borg said the real crisis was not just taking place in detention centres but also at open centres.

The minister said the government needed to set up one more open centre to cater for those who deserve protection. Malta currently has over 800 migrants - 500 are being kept in detention and 300 are residing in open centres.

He appealed for more NGOs to emulate the Emigrants' Commission and the John XXIII Peace Lab, which offer accommodation to those who have been granted humanitarian protection.