Malta, Italy press Brussels for compulsory burden sharing

Italy and Malta are piling pressure on the European Commission for compulsory burden-sharing after the incident of stranded immigrants on a cargo vessel off Lampedusa underscored the burden both countries were shouldering.

The incident on the Turkish vessel Pinar E. saw Italy and Malta arguing over who should take in the 140 illegal immigrants on board and both are likely to keep squabbling since they are giving different interpretations to the rules over where immigrants should be taken after rescue.

The situation has pushed Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici to call for "compulsory" solidarity from EU member states, insisting that burden sharing should not remain "voluntary" as expressed in the Immigration Pact.

This was echoed by his Italian counterpart, Roberto Maroni, who said it was clear that the voluntary system in the pact was not working.

A "friendly" dinner in Brussels on Thursday, that went on till the early hours, attended by the two ministers and the EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot forged a consensus that the EU had to do more on immigration.

However, both Dr Mifsud Bonnici and Mr Maroni continue to disagree over what should happen if another dispute had to emerge as to where migrants rescued on the high seas should be landed.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici tried to diplomatically avoid the incident, saying: "Malta and Italy decided not to discuss the recent issue" as they had different positions. But when Mr Maroni was pressed to say what would happen if a similar incident occurred, at first he hesitated and then said: "I understood the question... but we have not found a solution over this".

Mr Maroni admitted that both Malta and Italy were interpreting international laws differently. At the same time, he said, if the EU acted quickly, the Pinar E. incident would not be repeated.

Although the European Commission has promised to move on the requests by both Italy and Malta, it was not clear when this would happen or whether its proposals on both countries' demands would be acceptable to the other European partners.

Mr Barrot said the solution to the problem was European solidarity and promised he would propose a system of "obligatory solidarity" to member states. However, he admitted this would not be easy to obtain.

"The best solution will be European solidarity because sooner or later all EU states are going to be confronted with the arrival of these migrants even though they may not be coastal states," he said.

"We agree it is time to have a system of compulsory solidarity, although I don't think this is going to be accepted tomorrow. But, still, I will put this proposal to the EU Home Affairs Ministers," he added.

Another action promised by the Commission concerned Frontex, the EU's border agency. He said Frontex should be more involved in facilitating the return of illegal migrants and help member states to identify, better and faster, the migrants and their country of origin. Mr Barrot said Europe should put all its weight behind negotiations with Libya and other countries of origin to stop immigrants departing from Africa.

Excluding the Pinar E. incident, Dr Mifsud Bonnici appeared satisfied with the discussion: "Europe must understand that both Malta and Italy are in a very difficult situation and we need concrete action that shows real solidarity. We need action and this is what we are demanding from the EU".

He felt it was unfair that southern countries like Malta and Italy were bearing the brunt of this migratory flow with other EU countries failing to come "forward enough to help".

"So today we marked a milestone to get more burden sharing and more solidarity from Europe," he said after the meeting, adding he was looking forward to see the EU emerge with a concrete programme implementing the pact on migration and asylum.

Mr Maroni elaborated on what Italy expected from the EU: "We want Europe to take over the responsibility of what Malta and Italy are doing now. This is a European problem and must be discussed by all member states".

According to Mr Maroni, the EU should, in the shortest possible time, come up with a directive stipulating the rules and responsibilities of all member states.

He also felt Frontex should change its role from an agency that tried to keep immigrants out to an organisation that took over the management of this problem.

"Frontex should take over the responsibility of repatriation of illegal immigrants and set up and manage reception facilities all over the EU, similar to the ones we have in Malta and Italy," he said. Meanwhile, Mr Maroni steered clear of commenting on his serious accusations levelled at Malta following last week's incident. Asked by The Times whether he had withdrawn his allegations, he just said: "We will resolve our issues in a friendly manner on the basis of the long and friendly relationship we have established over the years".