Malta will be pressing its case for the activation of the EU’s temporary protection directive to come into force during a Home Affairs Ministers’ meeting on April 11.

This would give refugees temporary protection status of up to two years and be relocated to other member states.

This mechanism, in place since 2001, has never so far been put into practice. Activating it requires a formal proposal by the Commission and an endorsement of a qualified majority of member states.

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici this afternoon told the media that earlier this week he wrote to EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom requesting the mechanism to be activated.

But in her reply yesterday, Commissioner Malmstrom said that although she understood Malta’s situation, there was not yet an emergency situation so there was no need to activate the EU’s temporary protection mechanism.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici noted that Malta last month made several conditions for the acceptance of a Frontex mission which included the setting up of a common processing centre in the EU to handle all rescued migrants and distribute them among the member states.

The proposal was not accepted.

Frontex then suggested the deployment of a rapid border response in which member states would be obliged to take part in one way or another.

Malta said it was not accepting the proposal unless its conditions were also taken on board.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici insisted that what was happening in Libya was an extraordinary situation and the arrival of 816 migrants in just 24 hours was just an indication of a developing scenario which could not be compared to the situation in previous years.

The weather over the past two days did not encourage further arrivals but once it was, more people wanting to escape the civil war in Libya could be expected.

Malta’s argument with the EU was that it was better for the union to be prepared than be caught unaware.

Asked about the situation, the minister said:

”I am not sinking and the country has handled the 816 migrants who arrived earlier this week but I have to take into consideration what is happening in Libya. I would be a fool to ignore the fact that there is a civil war going on.”

This, he insisted was not a normal migratory flow.

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