Migration: French minister evasive on burden sharing proposal

French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux said today that migration would be a major priority for France when it takes over the EU presidency in a couple of months time.

He was speaking just after a meeting with his counterpart, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici at the ministry in Valletta.

Earlier he met Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg (picture).

“...one of the main priorities of the French Presidency will be migration, it is a question which concerns all the countries in Europe and it will be a main priority,” he said.

However, when asked by The Times whether France would be supporting Malta’s burden sharing proposal, the minister replied, rather evasively, that the argument was made strongly by both Dr Borg and Dr Mifsud Bonnici and that the matter would be considered carefully in a series of European conferences that will be organised between July and October.

Comments

Alexander Morana (on 6/5/08)

Minister Brice Hortefeux by evading the argument of burden sharing, is simply saying, Malta should keep the refugees which land here according to the Dublin treaty. France has her own problem of unwanted refugees. Sarkozy promised before being elected that he would deport the refugees without a job and the ones which fail to qualify as refugees.
Can't see why this administration is still going to expect European countries to accept any refugee who first came to Malta.