EPP Malta conference to discuss illegal immigration

A two-day meeting in Malta this July of all 277 MEPs of the European People's Party and the European Democrats (EPP-ED) group is expected to focus on illegal immigration, with a view to presenting concrete proposals to the EU by the end of the year, group chairman Joseph Daul said.

Addressing a press conference in Granada, Spain, following a bureau meeting of the group - the largest in the European Parliament - Mr Daul said that in Malta the EPP-ED group will decide on a package of proposals for EU immigration policy which could include a 'Marshall Plan' for those countries that are a source of illegal immigrants coming to Europe and a plan to fight the mafias which traffic people.

"We have the imperative need to offer solutions for the problem of immigration because otherwise it will promote the politics of extremists in Europe," said Mr Daul.

"We should not be afraid of words: we need to combat the mafias organising illegal immigration."

The conference, to be hosted by the Nationalist Party, is also expected to be attended by a number of EU Commissioners, possibly even the President, José Manuel Barroso.

The Grenada bureau conference, which also discussed illegal immigration, was addressed by the head of the Maltese delegation in the EPP group, Dr Simon Busuttil.

He called on the EU to rise to public expectations, which wanted it to stem the flow of illegal immigration. He said that a short-term policy consisting of measures to combat illegal immigration effectively needed to move in parallel with long-term policy intended to address the development needs of the countries of origin.

Dr Busuttil pointed to a number of measures that merited particular attention, including the need for more co-operation between the EU and third countries.

Referring to the sea patrols off the Canary Islands and between Malta and Libya, Dr Busuttil said results so far had not been impressive, not least because of complications, including lack of co-operation with countries such as Libya, and lack of sufficient equipment and capabilities from EU countries.

"This year, the capabilities issue seems to have been settled. However, calls for co-operation with Libya have still not yielded sufficient results. Although Frontex patrols will resume this year in the central Mediterranean area, it was not yet clear when they will commence."

Dr Busuttil said that although these concrete measures were positive steps, more efforts are needed.