Norway to take 90 Libyan refugees

Norway yesterday joined the list of countries offering to take refugees who have landed in Malta when escaping the Libyan conflict, despite it not being a member of the EU.

State Secretary Pal Lonseth said Norway would be taking some 90 refugees and asylum seekers from Malta as it feels that the island could not cope with the influx reaching its shores.

“Malta is a small state which needs help in handling the difficult refugee situation. We will be taking 90 refugees in the coming weeks and we don’t exclude taking more in the future,” Mr Lonseth said.

Although not an EU member state, Norway collaborates very closely with the EU and is included in almost all the programmes and initiatives co-financed by the Union.

According to the Norwegian government, refugees will be chosen in consultation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and local authorities.

Following the arrival of some 1,000 people aboard boats a few weeks ago, the European Commission refused to accept Malta’s proposal to put in place a clause in the EU Treaty which would oblige member states to take refugees from countries overwhelmed by the sudden mass movement.

While holding on to the position that the numbers so far did not constitute an emergency, the Commission decided to help Malta by extending an intra-EU resettlement programme, launched in 2008, aimed at encouraging member states to re-settle refugees against financial assistance from the Commission.

The Commission urged member states to make formal pledges to Malta.

Apart from yesterday’s announcement from Norway, other member states including Germany, France, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia announced that they will be taking a total of 200 refugees.

Many have criticised the EU for not showing concrete solidarity with countries on the front line like Malta and Italy. The majority of member states currently oppose burden sharing and only a minority have pledged to take refugees from the island.