Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
New EU commissioner firmly briefed on migration
MEPs have bound the future EU Commissioner for Home Affairs to treat migration as a priority.
Giving Sweden's Foreign Minister and commissioner-designate Cecilia Malmstrom the green light to take up the post, they insisted in their official assessment letter that she make a number of commitments and pursue a concrete programme of action on the issue.
Following her three-hour grilling before members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee last week, many MEPs who spoke to The Times said they considered her answers with regard to tackling illegal immigration as "vague".
However, political groups represented on the committee have now agreed that the Swedish nominee should be bound by certain objectives that she would be expected to follow during her five-year term.
"On the basis of the commissioner-designate's statements, the committee expects that she will endeavour to establish an EU legal and illegal migration and asylum policy as a priority and compliant with the objectives outlined in the Treaty and in the Stockholm programme," the chairman of the committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, wrote in his confidential letter to EP president Jerzy Buzek.
"The committee shares the legislative priorities outlined by the commissioner-designate and expects a strong commitment and the presentation of appropriate legislative and budgetary proposals fleshing out the principle of solidarity between member states and to strengthen efforts on stronger co-operation with third countries, notably on readmission agreements and to reduce incentives for migration," says the letter, seen by The Times.
Sources close to the committee said the main political groups spent two days discussing their assessment due to the divergent opinions on her performance.
Contacted by The Times, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, the only Maltese on this committee and the EPP's coordinator responsible for the drafting of the assessment letter, refused to give details on what went on during the discussions, saying they were confidential.
"However, I can assure you that the EPP insisted that the new commissioner should be bound by certain important commitments with regards to illegal immigration," he said.
Last week, following Ms Malmstrom's hearing, the EPP - the largest political group in the EP - said it was not satisfied with the way the new EU commissioner-designate would handle the immigration dossier and was expecting more concrete proposals.
Dr Busuttil had described as vague her answers on the need of solidarity with southern EU member states like Malta facing the burden of illegal migration.
Under the new Lisbon Treaty, the EP shares full legislative powers with the member states in the area of home affairs.
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sean grima
Jan 30th 2010, 14:10
i am sure the refugee comissioner knows how to interpret the refugees convention more than you do
lgalea
Jan 29th 2010, 21:54
sean grima
Yes sean, that is what the Convention provides. It is your interpretation and your constant defense which is ridiculous.
They have to come directly, so they should have applied for asylum in the first country they went to. Do you think that anyone believes you or them that they had not passed through an African country where they were safe, especially as the Refugee Appeals Board Report stated that 99% had stayed in Libya for up to 10 years, so they were in no danger there. They are simply economic migrants and have absolutely NO right to be here or to ask for asylum sean. And by the way I am not referring only to African illegal immigrants but to ALL illegal immigrants of whatever colour or nationality.
sean grima
Jan 29th 2010, 18:22
she will not be judged by people like you! the numbers you should be hoping to decrease are those of the people who die of hunger, who are killed or maimed as a result of civil war, and those living below human decency. your literal interpretation of the refugee convention is twisted to suit your purposes: if one were to interpret it that way, one could only seek asylum in adjacent countries!
Denis Catania
Jan 29th 2010, 16:18
Any EU commissioner who does not know the problem of illegal immigration in Malta, Italy, Greece, Spain and now France needs to find another job. Maybe she will make a better gardener.
sean grima
Jan 29th 2010, 13:05
@ louise: the number of migrants will fall when the problems back in africa start being resolved.
@ lgalea: your literal interpretation is ridiculous: would a refugee from, say somalia, be expected to be airlifted to malta or any other non-adjacent country?! such an interpretation would defeat the scope of the convention. after all, asylum applications are decided by the refugee commissioner, who is surely more qualified to interpret the convention than you.
louise vella
Jan 29th 2010, 12:36
As a Swede Cecilia Malmstrom must be watched carefully because she is likely to lean towards the politically correct views of NGOs, rather than those of the common people of countries suffering from the burden of illegal immigrants, like Malta. She will be judged by numbers (which are more eloquent than words). Will the numbers of illegal immigrants landing or arriving in the southern EU member states rise or fall during her 5 years in office? Time and numbers will tell.
lgalea
Jan 29th 2010, 12:03
sean grima
She is so respected that the MEPs have bound her to a concrete action programme they don't trust her.
We care first of all about OUR human rights. The illegal immigrants which you so much defend have absolutely NO right to be in Malta and have absolutely NO right to claim asylum in Malta because they have not traveled straight from their country of origin sean. Go read the Refugee Convention and learn sean.
sean grima
Jan 29th 2010, 11:50
yes, and she is to be admired for that, unlike lgalea and comrades who do not seem to care a hoot about the fundamental human rights of other people in their quest for maltese purity.
lgalea
Jan 29th 2010, 11:12
http://euobserver.com/18/29297
...Ms Malmstrom, a former centrist MEP turned minister who helped steer the Swedish EU presidency in the second half of 2009, will be the first commissioner dedicated solely to home affairs issues. In the outgoing commission, the portfolio includes justice, home affairs and civil liberties...."I have worked with human rights all my life. I assure you, I wouldn't have taken up this job if I wasn't confident of being able to put a strong imprint of fundamental rights [upon it]," she argued...On migration, which "has been with us since Adam and Eve," Ms Malmstrom said she was in favour of strengthening the capabilities of Frontex...In her view, the EU commission should ensure more "humane" migration policies, emphasising the rights of asylum seekers while at the same time fighting organised human trafficking.
No wonder she was FIRMLY briefed because she appears to be self-confessed do-gooder who disregards a country's citizens rights and favours illegal immigrants.
damian galea
Jan 29th 2010, 11:12
a Swede will always see migration as a necessity to address the EUs demographic deficit - the EU population is decreasing in production (1,1child per 2 adults) and ageaing - migration is a NECESSITY in demographic terms.
however, us being on the migration route we need to emphasise the SOLIDARITY aspect. no solidarity = no migration = no young people to do our heavier tasks and pay for the pensions.
we count heavily on people like SIMON BUSUTTIL who will certainly be crucial to highlight this equation and to make sure that we do not bear the brunt of the solution to the EUs need for migrants. lets hope that PL MEPs will be there to support Simon when needed.