No burden sharing, no deal, Malta says

Malta yesterday made it clear to its EU counterparts it will not accept a deal on a new EU immigration pact without a clear reference to burden sharing. The issue was raised by Malta during a discussion at EU Ambassadors level yesterday aimed at concluding the talks on the pact proposed by France, which now holds the rotating EU presidency.

Although France is pushing for a final deal to be reached next week during a meeting of EU Justice Ministers in Brussels, Council sources told The Times that Malta is posing a stumbling block as it is still disagreeing on the text.

"We can confirm that Coreper (the Permanent Representatives Committee) discussed the issue again yesterday and that member states are close to a final deal.

"However, Malta is still objecting as it is insisting to insert a commitment in the final text that the EU will support those member states on the Union's border that receive a disproportionate number of asylum-seekers. Malta's claim is in fact the main outstanding issue at the moment," the sources said.

Justice Ministry sources confirmed that Malta is adopting a tough stance on this issue and will keep doing its utmost to keep up the pressure on the EU, if needed, even at heads of state and government level.

"If burden sharing is not inserted in the text we are not prepared to agree to this deal," the government sources said.

Malta has been exerting pressure on the EU to start including a burden-sharing mechanism in its immigration policies for the past years. However, some member states, particularly those that are not really affected by the immigration problem, continue to resist the idea and don't want to commit themselves.

In order to try to find a compromise, Malta has proposed that the new burden-sharing mechanism will only be on a voluntary basis, giving the option to resisting member states to choose whether to participate or not in future EU asylum resettlement programmes. However, even following this concession, some member states are still sceptical.

Despite the many promises made on the need of showing real solidarity with the overburdened countries, the EU has still not transformed its rhetoric into action.

A similar burden-sharing proposal made last year by Malta with regard to the rescue of illegal immigrants in third country waters, like Libya, also received lukewarm response and has been put on the back burner. The new pact, which will set out principles for the EU to manage migration, fight illegal immigration and help development in poor countries, is one of the main thrusts of the French presidency and will set the agenda for the EU's migration policy for the next 10 years.

In order to be approved, the pact needs the clearance of all the 27 member states.