Malta should know burden-sharing figures by the end of this month

Malta should know how many refugees and migrants having humanitarian status can be resettled in EU member states by the end of the month.

Unveiling plans intended to resettle asylum seekers from third countries in EU member states, Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot yesterday gave more details on the first pilot project, launched by the Commission and specifically designed to help Malta alleviate its immigration problems.

Mr Barrot said a letter was sent to all member states in June asking them to declare by the end of September whether they would voluntarily resettle some of the refugees and asylum seekers in Malta and, if so, how many.

Once all the replies were received, the issue would be raised at the next EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, scheduled for the end of this month, in order to decide on the way forward.

Mr Barrot told a press conference in Brussels that once the voluntary commitments were known, the Commission would work closely with the member states and international organisations - the United High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration - to develop the project. The aim is to start the relocation of a number of beneficiaries of international protection to other member states by 2010.

Through this pilot project, member states that decide to share Malta's burden will be given financial compensation through the European Refugee Fund.

So far, France has been the only country to publicly declare its intention to take part and has already relocated 100 beneficiaries of international protection from Malta. Sources close to the Commission said other member states were willing to make their pledges.

At the moment, there are about 2,000 refugees and other persons enjoying protection in Malta and who could benefit from this intra-EU resettlement programme.

Mr Barrot said there were other initiatives to help the island in the pipeline, including research to look into the implications and impact of relocation at EU level. He said results should be available next summer.

Meanwhile, in another attempt to encourage member states to take an active part in burden sharing initiatives, since some were very reluctant, the Commission yesterday proposed a solidarity instrument called the Joint EU Resettlement Programme.

It proposes that, every year, member states would start declaring how many refugees and beneficiaries of international protection they intended to resettle from other states outside the EU.

According to the Commission, this should indirectly help overburdened countries on the EU's southern borders, such as Malta and Italy, since it would discourage asylum seekers to make their desperate crossing of the Mediterranean Sea in order to reach Europe illegally.

Currently, resettlement is carried out by individual member states without much consultation and coordination. The proposed programme provides for closer political and practical cooperation among member states so as to increase the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of resettlement activities and tackle the humanitarian and strategic impact of resettlement.

"Establishing a joint EU resettlement programme will make it easier and more cost-effective for other member states to take part in resettlement. These countries can benefit from the experiences and know-how acquired in other member states and will participate in decision-making on resettlement priorities," the Commission said.

This initiative will have to be agreed upon by the European Parliament and the 27 member states.

How will the resettlement programme work in practice?

The European Commission will establish a Resettlement Expert Group in which all member states would participate together with other stakeholders such as the UNHCR, IOM and NGOs active in resettlement.

This group would, on the basis of UNHCR's forecast of the resettlement needs for the following year, identify common annual EU resettlement priorities.

Priorities could apply to both geographic regions and nationalities as well as to specific categories of refugees to be resettled. The EU could, for example, prioritise the resettlement of Iraqi refugees from Syria and Jordan, Somali refugees from Kenya or Sudanese refugees from Chad.

This framework would allow, on an annual basis, the identification of new or priority resettlement needs.

Member states that resettle according to the common EU annual priorities would receive additional financial assistance of €4,000 for every person through the European Refugee Fund.

Member states would remain free to carry out resettlement of other categories of refugees.