The European Parliament's largest political group - the EPP - is not satisfied with the way the new EU commissioner-designate for migration will handle matters and is expecting more concrete proposals.
The answers of Sweden's Cecilia Malmström on solidarity with southern EU member states like Malta were "vague", the EPP's spokesman for the Civil Liberties Committee, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, said yesterday.
He said his group was reserving its judgment on the new liberal commissioner and "wants to see more concrete proposals and less rhetoric" on combating illegal immigration.
The 41-year old former MEP and Foreign Affairs Minister faced Euro parliamentarians from the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday during a three-hour hearing. Though she performed well overall, her answers on tackling migration and security in the EU remained unconvincing.
Dr Busuttil, who is the only Maltese MEP on the committee, said yesterday there was need for more concrete answers from Ms Malmström on important issues in her portfolio.
"We think she was evasive in her replies on solidarity in the area of asylum and on the fight against illegal immigration, notably on the return of third-country nationals who take up illegal residence in EU countries and on re-admission agreements with third countries," Dr Busuttil said.
"On the whole, Ms Malmström has our support but she will need to come forward with concrete proposals very soon," Dr Busuttil insisted.
Migration issues, particularly the fight against illegal immigration, dominated Ms Malmström's hearing with MEPs from Malta, Italy and Greece pressing her to make solid suggestions of future EU action.
In his intervention during the hearing, Dr Busuttil said that although the EU had been saying a lot of things about illegal immigration, people living on the southern borders, like Malta and Italy, were expecting more results.
On her part, the commissioner-designate promised she would do more in this area and said Brussels would be equipping Frontex - the EU's border agency - to have its own resources to perform anti-migration surveillance operations like the ones off the coasts of Malta independently of those offered by participating member states.
Pressed by Dr Busuttil to declare whether she agreed with compulsory burden sharing, Ms Malmström avoided giving a direct answer, indicating that burden sharing had to remain voluntary.
"I hope that more countries will participate in the Malta (burden sharing) programme. However, we already have nine on board and this is a good start," she said.
Although she agreed that the EU needed to end the tragedy of boat people between Africa's coasts and the EU's southern member states, she stressed that "migration has existed since Adam and Eve".
"We're not going to be able to end it," Ms Malmström said, adding that she wants an EU policy on asylum and to combat illegal immigration based on common values and fundamental rights.
The difficult cooperation with Libya was also raised during the hearing.
Italian MEP Rita Borsellino reminded her that when she was an MEP she had described Libya as a "rogue state". This time round, Ms Malmström evidently preferred to be more cautious on her views of Tripoli.
"We have to talk, even if it is not easy to talk to Libya, which is not necessarily a very democratic country. Things are advancing very, very slowly," she said on ongoing talks between the EU and Libya on cooperation on migration.
"We have to provide protection for those who need it while respecting the principle of non-deportation," she said referring to the right of asylum seekers to have their requests for protection reviewed before a decision on repatriation can be taken.
Ms Malmström was vague on the possibility of sanctions, notably against Italy, which is accused of having deported to Libya illegal immigrants intercepted at sea without giving them the opportunity to apply for asylum.
"A great deal remains to be done on the asylum package if we hope to have a common asylum policy with the same reception conditions," she said without referring directly to Italy's push-back policy.