Forced burden-sharing ‘difficult’ – Polish PM

Solidarity cannot be forced, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said yesterday, insisting it would be “difficult” for Malta to get help to deal with illegal immigration if burden-sharing were obligatory.

“As long as decisions on immigration are left up to individual member states they have to be on a voluntary basis,” he said during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the end of bilateral talks at the Auberge de Castille.

Mr Tusk was on a brief working visit and leaves this morning.

He did say, however, that Poland was ready to offer Malta solidarity on immigration. By the end of the year it would present the government with a blueprint of the type of assistance it would offer.

Mr Tusk said Poland’s experience with immigration was recent and negative, but if a proposal were put forward at EU level and it was decided that immigration would be dealt with in an organised manner, Poland would lend its support.

Poland, he said, was ready to help find a solution to the immig­ration problem and also help Malta achieve its aspirations with regard to the hosting of EU agencies.

He did not give details but is believed to have been referring to Malta’s candidature to host the European Asylum Office.

Dr Gonzi made no reference to the Asylum Office in the news conference but underscored the human tragedy that characterised illegal immigration.

The two leaders also discussed climate change and bilateral trade issues.

The Polish PM had strong words on the Copenhagen summit on climate change due in December and insisted that each EU member state had to be fully aware of the financial burden it would have to shoulder if the summit wanted to be effective.

“This is a matter we will be raising in the next Council of Ministers. If the burden is too heavy, it would not be feasible for the Copenhagen conclusions to be implemented,” Mr Tusk said.

On his part Dr Gonzi said Malta was insisting that climate change solutions needed to match individual countries’ capabilities and acknowledged that Poland had particular circumstances linked to the fact that it was still a developing economy.

The Polish PM arrived in Malta yesterday accompanied by a 30-strong business delegation which took part in a Malta Enterprise seminar on doing business with Poland. Trade exchanges between the two countries have doubled since they joined the EU. In 2008 Malta imported almost €17.5 million worth of products from Poland and exported almost €13 million.