Swedish Ambassador rules out compulsory burden sharing

A common EU policy on immigration is on the list of priorities set by the new Swedish Presidency but mandatory burden sharing does not form part of the brief, Swedish Ambassador Ulla Gudmundson said.

In a brief overview to journalists ahead of the Swedish Prime Minister's address at the European Parliament today, Ms Gudmundson said her government wanted to embark on a meaningful discussion on how to manage migration issues in the Mediterranean.

She insisted Libya was a key factor and the Swedish Home Affairs Ministry had already sent his Libyan counterpart a letter inviting him to re-launch talks on the matter.

Ms Gudmundson ruled out that compulsory burden sharing would ever be possible because the countries opposed to it would always remain against.

"What is possible is a common asylum policy that envisages more cooperation between EU member states," she said.

Ms Gudmundson said her government was surprised when Malta voted against extending residency rights to migrants with protection status because that would have enabled them to move on to other European countries after a period of time.

Other key areas the Swedish Presidency would be focusing on over the next six months were the reform of EU institutions, depending on whether the Lisbon Treaty is approved in the Irish referendum, climate change, the economic crisis and better regulation, cleaning up the Baltic sea and improving economic prospects in the region and strengthening the EU as a global actor.