The Times reported on September 4 that "the pressing problem of immigration is not among José Manuel Barroso's top priorities in his second five-year term as President of the European Commission".

In a 41-page document listing his new agenda for the next Presidency, Mr Barroso hardly mentions the question of illegal immigration giving it only a few scant lines in the manner of an afterthought. His spokesman in Brussels, when pressed for an explanation, tried, without much success, to dispel the fears of those member states, especially in the south, to which the problem is indeed of major concern.

Clearly, Mr Barrosso's mind and that of his advisers are now concentrated elsewhere in their attempt to see him re-elected. They can perceive that the most pressing issue before most member states is the prevailing world economic crisis and the direction the economic policy of the Commission will take in the future during the next Presidency. Indeed, up to a few weeks ago, Mr Barroso's re-election seemed assured. Now doubts have started to creep in. His new critics accuse him of a neo-liberal agenda. To allay these critics, Mr Barroso has pledged to be an "implacable defender of the EU Single Market, the rock on which European growth is built". This is, indeed, sweet music to the ears of those to whom competitive Europe is sacrosanct.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, who could sway the vote for the EU Presidency, has been known behind the scenes to be not too enthusiastic in his support of Mr Barroso, with whom he has in the past clashed on a number of important issues.

Silvio Berlusconi, on the other hand, is seething with anger over the Commission's criticism in connection with Italy's controversial immigration policy. Mr Berlusconi went so far as to threaten to block EU voting from now on.

The Commission has tried to play down this new dispute with Italy but, clearly, Mr Berlusconi, with his unpredictable ways, is in no mood to be conciliatory and might cause further trouble in the coming weeks and months, which could impinge also on Mr Barroso's own chances for re-election.

It is unfortunate that most member states north of the Alps have shown little interest in the question of illegal immigration from Africa. As MEP Simon Busuttil stated in a recent meeting of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee: "We need to ask ourselves just how effective Europe has been in stemming this tide. The honest answer to this question is that Europe has not been half as effective as we want it to be".

Mr Barroso's opponents want to delay a parliamentary vote on the new Presidency to October in order to have a clearer view of the outcome of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on October 2, thereby hoping that his re-nomination would be caught up in some more horse-dealing. In my view, these would be the right political circumstances for Malta to ensure that the question of illegal immigration rises again to the surface in the corridors of the Commission and our voice is heard. As the problem becomes more entrenched for us, it is important that we are not silenced.

In this scenario it is, perhaps, the right time for us to join forces with our neighbours, in particular with Italy, given its present belligerent mood, to ensure that Mr Barroso's new agenda does indeed reflect also our concerns - of which illegal immigration ought to be, without doubt, one of its major components. Recent news from Brussels seems to indicate that Mr Barroso is, at last, responding positively to these new pressures that could even threaten his second bid for the Presidency if he lets them pass by unheeded.

It has been reported that, in a recent meeting with MEPs to rally support, he specifically sought to reassure MEPs disappointed by the scarcity of sympathy in his agenda for those states shouldering the burdens of illegal immigrants in unprecedented numbers by telling them that the problem would constitute a high political priority to his new Presidency, hinting in no unequivocal terms that he may even go as far as having a new commissioner with a portfolio dedicated solely to the immigration question. This is indeed good news for us and shows how sensitive all of a sudden Mr Barroso has become to the anxieties of states in the forefront and facing the onslaught of illegal immigration.

Given this changing situation, it is incumbent upon the government, as also on our MEPs, to continue the put pressure on Mr Barroso, thereby not losing a golden opportunity that has unexpectedly presented itself and that could induce him to take into consideration also our concerns on illegal immigration, which have so far been largely neglected by Europe.

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