Malta close to deal on burden sharing

Substantial progress was reported to have been achieved yesterday in Malta's efforts to include a commitment on burden sharing in the EU's new Migration Pact.

Sources close to the EU Council last night said the majority of member states that originally objected to Malta's proposal have decided to lift their reservations.

"There is still one member state that is insisting on different wording in the text as suggested by Malta, but this should be thrashed out by Justice Ministers," sources said.

The sources, however, did not reveal the identity of this particular member state "because normally these discussions are held behind closed doors".

The breakthrough came during intense talks held yesterday in Brussels by the top echelons of Malta's diplomats.

The discussions have been aimed at finding a compromise solution to the impasse. The progress means that talks are now expected to be concluded today during a meeting of EU Justice Ministers.

Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici yesterday held a private one-on-one meeting with EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot on the issue while Malta's Permanent Representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, took part in a day-long meeting of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) in which the whole text of the new EU Migration Pact was discussed.

Malta wants the EU to agree to a new intra-EU voluntary burden-sharing mechanism aimed at helping small states deal with massive influxes of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Until Tuesday, a number of EU member states were opposed to Malta's stand on including specific reference to the creation of a burden sharing mechanism in the Pact, arguing that this mechanism could eventually act as a pull for migrants.

However, during the discussions, Ambassador Cachia Caruana insisted that Malta was not going to accept a final deal if a commitment towards burden sharing is not inserted.

Malta has for years been harping on the need for such a mechanism but no real action has been taken by the EU so far.

In order to reach a political agreement, a unanimous decision is needed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council today. The Pact will then need to be endorsed by EU leaders in a summit in Brussels next month.