The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, yesterday pledged his support to Malta in its efforts to ensure that illegal immigration is treated as a common responsibility within the EU.

Prof. Buzek, who was addressing the Maltese Parliament during a two-day visit, also said the European Parliament would do its best for Malta to obtain the much awaited sixth MEP seat.

“We (in the European Parliament) believe that a member state should not be left alone when faced with such a challenge (illegal immigration). It has to be our common responsibility.

“I can assure you that the European Parliament will keep its eyes on this issue. We will also support you in the European Court of Justice against the Council on this issue,” he told MPs.

Prof. Buzek, the former Polish Prime Minister, showed an interest in how illegal immigration was affecting the country by visiting the open centre for migrants in Balzan yesterday morning.

He toured the grounds and stopped to speak to immigrants in their small, cramped bedrooms. He asked a young boy where he dreamt of living his life after Malta, to which the boy promptly replied: “America”.

Last week the European Court of Human Rights found that the Dublin II rules, which stipulate that asylum applications have to be handled by the country where migrants first arrive, were inhumane.

Malta has long maintained that the Dublin II rules should be suspended in extraordinary circumstances that create pressure on border states. This stand had the backing of the European Parliament but was shot down by the Council of Ministers where Malta met opposition from various governments.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat and the Speaker of the House Michael Frendo thanked Prof. Buzek for offering his solidarity on the issue.

The three also joined forces in calling on him, as the head of the European Parliament, to speed up the process so that Malta would be given its promised sixth seat.

“The European Parliament is doing all it can to give Malta its sixth seat,” Prof. Buzek said.

In a press conference later he elaborated that this sixth seat was “absolutely necessary” but first member states had to ratify changes to the Lisbon Treaty so that 18 new MEPs could join the Parliament.

He added that some states still had to choose their new representatives. This was causing delays in allowing the new MEPs to be given observer status and later become full members since the Parliament wanted to take in the new members at once.

Malta’s sixth seat is waiting to be filled by Labour MEP Joseph Cuschieri who has been patiently awaiting observer status since being elected as the runner-up to the first five elected MEPs in 2008.

Speaking about those MEPs, Prof. Buzek said they were an active group and were “highly respected”.

“My only comment would be, bring us more of the same quality – but Maltese women MEPs would also be most welcome,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said both sides of the House would do their best to increase female representation in both the local and European Parliament.

Prof. Buzek also touched upon the ongoing situation in Tunisia and said the EU needed Malta’s advice on what else it could do to help assist the country overcome the current political instability and develop a strong democracy.

“Malta is Tunisia’s next door neighbour and we need your advice on what else the EU can and should do,” he said, adding that the EU had already offered an aid package to Tunisia to address economic and social issues.

Human rights groups had criticised Malta, Italy, Spain and France for having adopted a “soft” approach to the repressive regime of Tunisia’s former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has been ousted.

Foreign Minister Tonio Borg had said Malta and other Mediterranean countries had objected to moves within the EU to take a tough stand against the regime because it was felt the bloc needed to engage such countries rather than impose its model of democracy.

Prof. Buzek yesterday also condemned the suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport which killed at least 35 people.

Earlier on in the day he held official talks with President George Abela and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Frendo, who, he recalled, had been the first Maltese to address the European Parliament when Malta still had observer status in 2003.

He praised Dr Frendo for his contribution to European integ­ration. He compared the EU to a “mosaic” formed by different member states which integrated and cooperated at different levels.

He also held a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee for European and Foreign Affairs where he spoke about the role of national parliaments in the EU decision-making process.

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