A step forward but not enough - AD

The Green Party of Malta, Alternattiva Demokratika, considers the burden-sharing concept on illegal immigration, agreed upon in Brussels last week, as "a first step in the right direction, but is still not enough".

AD chairman Arnold Cassola said Malta is part and parcel of the common external borders of the EU. Thus, it is not a voluntary choice for Malta to be an external border but a permanent feature.

In the circumstances, AD invited all EU countries to contribute and to share the responsibility which being an EU border country brings with it.

The political work should, therefore, continue so that the better relocation of beneficiaries of international protection from "border" countries like Malta, which suffer from disproportionate pressures due to its location when compared to other EU member states, should be on a compulsory basis and not on a voluntary one, Prof. Cassola argued.

Responsibility sharing, he added, should be on a continuous basis among all and not on a voluntary basis among some. "This is what true solidarity both among EU countries and towards fellow human beings means."