Migration dominates University EP candidates debate

Illegal immigration dominated a debate at the university between a number of European Parliament candidates this afternoon.

Nationalist candidate Frank Portelli said the situation needed to be tackled by Libya, since migrants left from there. It appeared that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi felt that since European countries had exploited Africa in the past, Africans had a right to simply invade Europe. Dr Portelli warned that if this problem continued in Europe, one would end up with a Catholic Europe and a Moslem Europe. He said he was describing the influx as an invasion because the number of immigrant arrivals in Malta was higher than the birth rate.

Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas (PN) said immigration was a European problem which required a European solution. The recent visits to Malta by EU Commissioners Verheugen and Barrot showed that the talking had started to turn into action by the EU. She said burden-sharing was important. The fact that it was voluntary was not ideal, but it was a good step in the right direction, and a difficult one to achieve. Now Malta had to keep on knocking on doors so that EU countries would help more.

Edward Scicluna (PL) said Italy had bullied Malta. This was a problem which Malta may face in the EU where the other member states were bigger. Migration, he said, was a very complex problem with no single or simple solution. It was a permanent problem, like climate change, but Europe had the clout to address burden sharing and improve development in Africa as a means to discourage immigration. Prof Scicluna said the PN had exaggerated Joseph Muscat's call for Malta to use the veto in the EU, and said this would only be used in extreme situations.

Arnold Cassola (AD) said Malta needed to separate the air traffic control area from its Search and Rescue Area and reduce the latter because it lacked the resources to adequately patrol it. He supported the government in its recent spat with Italy and stressed that the situation could not be solved by sending people back to Libya, because Libya was not part of the Geneva Convention on human rights. The need was to pressure the EU for responsibility sharing.

Marlene Mizzi (PL) also supported the government position. She said the migrants were poor people who should not be left to drown. However Malta could not afford to take in more immigrants. She said the Labour Party had made a number of good proactive proposals to solve this problem. The use of the veto in EU institutions was a right which could be exercised in the national interest.

Malcolm Seychell (AN) said immigration had been swept under the rug for too long by the government. Libya was the big problems and Malta and Italy should join together to put pressure on Libya, rather than fighting between themselves. He said the UN should should send all the immigrants to a designated part of Africa because Europe could not take them all. He said burden sharing was a farce and was not working.

John Zammit (Alleanza Liberali) said migrants should be kept in detention for as long as possible and he agreed that Col Gaddafi was coordinating this invasion.

Alan Deidun (PN) said there should be more development aid to Africa to reduce the need for migration to Europe. The issue, he said had to be tackled at source, with an emphasis on education and health. Intervening, Dr Portelli said Africa was not poor, he said, but instead of investment in education, money was being spent on weapons.