EP committee votes for compulsory burden sharing

The need to shift the EU's burden-sharing mechanism on migration from voluntary to compulsory was yesterday accepted in principle by the European Parliament's Committee for Civil Liberties.

During a vote on a set of migration-related proposals, put forward by the European Commission last year, the committee decided it was essential to propose legally-binding instruments to ensure more solidarity between member states.

This followed amendments moved by Simon Busuttil, which were unanimously supported by the committee.

According to the text approved, the Commission was now being called upon to come up with a concrete proposal for compulsory burden-sharing, which should be in place by no later than the end of 2011.

The text stated that the EU should enact a "binding (instrument) on all member states to provide effective support to those member states that are faced with specific and disproportionate pressures on their national systems due, in particular, to their geographical or demographic situation".

During yesterday's meeting in Brussels, the committee also gave its consent to another Commission proposal in favour of suspending the EU's Dublin Regulation in the case of countries such Malta, which was facing disproportionate migratory pressures.

Though these proposals have to be agreed upon by member states to become law, the EP shared co-decision powers with member states and its views could not be ignored by the Council.

Dr Busuttil said the EP had delivered an important message of solidarity to Malta and laid the foundation stone for a binding burden-sharing mechanism.

Describing yesterday's vote as a huge victory for Malta, Dr Busuttil said the EP had now given its backing to take burden-sharing one step further by making this instrument legally binding.

"We are on the way to suspending Dublin in the case of Malta and we are on the way to establishing a legally-binding burden-sharing mechanism. We are still likely to face resistance but we shall persevere until we get there," Dr Busuttil insisted.

The Dublin Regulation places the responsibility for immigrants squarely on the EU country where they arrive. This means that migrants landing in Malta become its responsibility and if they move and are apprehended in other EU countries they are transferred back to Malta.

Malta has long called for a change to these rules and these were formally proposed by the European Commission last December.

The committee position will be put to a final vote next month during the EP's last plenary session before the elections.

Ivan Camilleri, Brussels