Malta will get a tailor-made programme to help it fight illegal immigration after the EU leaders yesterday gave their go ahead to the European Commission.
Considered to be a first, Malta managed to obtain a concrete pledge inserted into the summit's conclusions, meaning that a pioneer intra-EU relocation programme for refugees is now cast in stone.
EU leaders, including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, specifically agreed that "in view of the present humanitarian emergency, concrete measures need to be quickly put in place and implemented".
The European Council calls for coordinating voluntary measures for internal reallocation of beneficiaries of international protection in member states, exposed to specific and disproportionate pressures and highly vulnerable persons.
It welcomed the Commission's intention to take initiatives in this respect, "starting with a pilot project for Malta".
Evidently satisfied with the EU leaders' backing, Dr Gonzi said at the end of the two-day summit in Brussels that Malta was now guaranteed help.
"This is another step forward in Malta's initiative to sensitise the EU on the need to tackle with urgency illegal immigration," he said.
"Until a few years ago, illegal immigration did not even feature on the EU's agenda. It was through Malta's perseverance and insistence that we have reached a stage where all 27 member states are genuinely concerned and beginning to act concretely.
"It has been a long way and this is not the end of the road. We are not saying we have solved all our problems through this initiative. However, this is another important step forward in our endeavour to put pressure on the EU to help us," Dr Gonzi said.
The decision cleared the way for the EU Executive to implement its first pilot project so that refugees and beneficiaries of humanitarian status in Malta can move and relocate to other member states on a voluntary basis. The EU will be giving member states substantial funds for each refugee they decide to take from Malta.
Asked about this programme's voluntary aspect, Dr Gonzi admitted member states were still reluctant to make this programme obligatory. That was why the Commission had specifically chosen to introduce a pilot project.
"We will test the waters through this pilot project. If it doesn't work it will become obvious that we need to have something more beneficial. However, the first step is done and we have to see where we go from here," he said.
At the end of the summit, EU leaders also cleared the way to settle various institutional issues so that the Union can have new rules under the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the year. The leaders agreed to give a number of written guarantees to the Irish government. It was decided that these guarantees be annexed through a protocol to the treaty, once it came into force, without the need for the other member states to re-ratify it.
This development clears the way for the Irish government to hold a second referendum hoping its electorate would give its consent after botching the treaty rules two years ago. The Irish are expected to call a referendum by the end of October.
The EU leaders also agreed on a set of banking rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the collapse of the financial markets.