European Greens endorse Alternattiva solidarity proposals

The European Green Party has endorsed proposals by Alternattiva Demokratika for the EU to immediately implement measures of solidarity on immigration, AD said yesterday.

During the European Green Party Council meeting in Budapest, the party took on proposals made by AD for the common policy on asylum to be governed by the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility, including its financial implications, between the member states.

“This principle of solidarity must be implemented immediately in matters of asylum and migration policy,” AD spokesman on International Affairs Arnold Cassola said.

The statement sent by the Green Party yesterday comes a day after the government said it was seeking to persuade fellow member states that the EU should trigger its emergency mechanism that provides for obligatory burden-sharing of migrants.

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici admitted on Saturday that some EU countries were not convinced of Malta’s case that the conflict in Libya was an exceptional circumstance that may lead to a sudden influx of migrants.

During the meeting of the European Greens, the parties also agreed that after the conflict, Libyan authorities should ratify the Geneva Convention to protect the rights of refugees.

“This would mean that, unlike the situation today under the Gaddafi regime, it would be safe for refugees to stay in Libya, without needing to escape from a repressive government, disrespectful of human rights,” Prof Cassola pointed out.

The European Green Party also discussed the dangers of nuclear energy in view of the disaster in Japan and expressed the need to prioritise clean energy.

AD chairman Michael Brigulio and Prof. Cassola participated in a demonstration against nuclear energy organised by the European Greens.

The European party also approved aspects of the social dimension known as the Green New Deal. This recommends a shift towards an economy based on green jobs, clean energy and accompanied by social policy that aimed for equality, inclusion of minorities, universal public services and quality employment.