Interview: EU asylum system ‘will boost burden sharing’ - Malmström
Repatriation talks with Egypt, Tunisia
The introduction of a common asylum system in the EU would encourage more member states to accept the responsibility of burden sharing and to offer to resettle more refugees from countries like Malta, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström said yesterday.
She said that although “Malta expected more”, the common system would be “a positive step in the right direction” and that with it in place, “it is only fair to assume that they will take on a greater responsibility”.
Ms Malmström was speaking to The Times at Dar l-Ewropa, the European Commission representation in Malta, shortly after inaugurating the European Asylum Support Office in Marsa, the first European agency being hosted by Malta. One of the tasks of the office is to improve the implementation of the Common European Asylum System.
Malta has been lobbying long and hard for the EU to relieve it of the burden of migrants from North Africa, which it maintains are too numerous for the island to cope with in relation to its size and resources. Other EU states have recently pledged to resettle about 350 of the thousands of refugees living here.
Asked whether she believed that the burden sharing concept in Europe was really working, Ms Malstrom replied: “Yes and no”.
She said the 350 people were part of an exercise and an expression of European solidarity. “I know that Malta hoped for more but this was the beginning.
“Since the May 14 (pledging) conference, more states are promising to release the pressure on Malta. There is no way that the Commission can force member states to take refugees. The only thing we can do is encourage them.
“I think having a common asylum system where all countries are capable of receiving people in accordance with international standards is a way to encourage all countries to take a responsibility.
“Today 10 countries take 90 per cent of all asylum seekers, so that leaves 17 which could do more. If we have a common system it will increase the burden sharing,” she said.
The Commissioner said she was aware of the “enormous pressure on Malta” but there were other countries that were getting an influx too, adding that last year, 263,000 people asked for asylum in Europe.
She said it was difficult to predict whether the 350 asylum seekers to be resettled in other European states would grow in number.
“All I can say is that this is just the beginning. This is why we need a common asylum system in place where people are treated fairly and given a good transparent evaluation of their case. If they can stay, fine, they can go into a system of integration but if they cannot we have to have a way to quickly send them back in dignified form.”
She said initial talks had already started with the Egyptian and Tunisian authorities to see how both sides could cooperate in the whole field of migration including fighting trafficking and smuggling of irregular migrants and return policies as well as ways to facilitate legal migration. “We are calling it a mobility partnership.” Morocco and, eventually Libya, will be next in line.
On the Asylum Support Office inaugurated yesterday, Ms Malmström said it was intended to support member states in the implementation of asylum policies, to help them in training, education, and the sharing of information and best practices.
She said the office, to which €40 million has been devoted until 2013, will offer training to people processing asylum applications and can help “to a certain extent” on relocation and resettlement. It will work very closely with Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
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Mr Tony Camilleri
Jun 20th 2011, 18:48
We do NOT want sharing of illegal immigrats Malmstrom.
We want them OUT of Malta.
You put your money where your big mouth is and take them to your own country.
Sean Grima
Jun 21st 2011, 09:42
your rudeness is an insult to our country.
Mr Joe Gatt
Jun 20th 2011, 15:59
It is quite clear that Mr Berlusconi does not give a Damn about Ms Malmstrom, as he has already come to an agreement with the Rebels in Benghazi.
The illegal imigration issue was taken care of in 2010, and apparently again yesterday by the good old Italians
Action speaks louder than words.
E. Azzopardi
Jun 20th 2011, 15:05
Never never ASSUME, madam.
Louis Gialanze
Jun 20th 2011, 13:56
With or without burden sharing the crux of the problem shall remain since the aliens do not belong in Europe and shall forever have difficulties integrating with the locals as experience have shown in much bigger countries of the EU.
Ms Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2011, 13:18
This European Office is bad news for Malta. It will advertise to the whole of Africa that Malta is the place to go to as a stepping stone for other countries in mainland Europe. But the latter will take only a token of our burden. Ireland is taking "up to", that is, a maximum, of 10. And presumably meaning a minimum of zero. The EU should not be using Malta as a call bird for illegal immigrants from Africa. The Maltese government should not let Malta be used as a carpet.
Ms Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2011, 12:23
The Swede Cecilia Malmstrom should know that what the EU needs is strong defences to prevent the boatfuls of illegal immigrants from crossing from the southern to the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The only system that stopped the boats in the central Mediterranean Sea was the agreement between Libya and Italy. Libya stopped the boats of illegal immigrants from leaving and Italy pushed back those that managed to leave anyway.
The only thing that the Swede Cecilia Malmstrom has managed to do so far is Frontex, a ferry service helping the illegal immigrants to cross over. She should now turn Frontex into a coastguard for real, one that defends Europe and not a service for the illegal immigrants. In the speech reported here the Swede Cecilia Malmstrom was just throwing words into the air.
Stephen Koludrovic
Jun 20th 2011, 12:02
@ James Cauchi,
Spot on mate. However saying the most logical thing that should be done might lose Ms Malmstrom her job, and that is not OK with her.
I
James Shaun Cauchi
Jun 20th 2011, 14:57
I see no reason for that necessarily to be the case. I am certain that there is room for Ms Malmström's talents in assisting in getting things on track. There 'are' resources at work in Africa - but they work within a limited scope and generally have the shorter-term in scope.
What is actually needed is a long term pseudo-military operation in the continent. Except that the 'weapons' we would use would be the establishment of infrastructure and the nurturing of resources that can be found in the regions, not the high explosive destruction which organizations such as NATO seem to think is the way forward.
This is the difference between greed and vision - the former brings rewards for the few at the expense of the many while the later lays the groundwork for stability and prosperity for many - and this using the very same resources we would have otherwise used in furthering the folly of burden sharing and similar non-solutions..
Joe Grech
Jun 20th 2011, 11:51
I agree entirely with the comment by Mr. J.S. Cauchi....circumstances have shown that Burden Sharing and Solidarity only really exist in E.U. Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom's head!
In 2010 she had boasted to MEPs asking her question about her plans if selected Commissioner that she would base her work on Solidarity and Burden Sharing. It might have been this enormous gaffe by her that earned her her well-paid job!
I guess anyone can make a mistake....she might really have believed in her own words. But to persist in the same mistake is folly...wrong ....and highly troublesome not just for real Asylum Seekers but also for the countries which unfortunately find these people in their midst. With the United Nations just looking on and like Malmstrom hoping that Guterres's equally inefficient ''solution'' will work. What a dismal hope!
This white elephant (the European Asylum Support Office) which was inaugurated with much fanfare will be attracting more illegal immigrants to our shores - they will look upon this Office as their very own Embassy Ms. Malmstrom. And it is you yourself and our own incompetent politicians who are to blame for that! Your policies have failed....but you are too hard-headed to admit that much.
How can you keep insisting on the ''implementation of the European Asylum System when Multiculturalism has failed dismally all over the world and host countries keep suffering as a result of having peoples with completely different cultures and practices in their midst?
''Yes and No'' Make up your mind. Stope ruining the Europe which is paying you your salary....just resign!
James Shaun Cauchi
Jun 20th 2011, 15:54
Multiculturalism is not an auto-failing concept, however there are elements that stack the odds against its success.
1 - Implimentation of multiculturalism as policy. Requiring a host population to adapt to a 'visitor' population is bound to produce a conflict of feelings in the host population. If the two populations cannot agree over what is appropriate, why exactly should the host population bend over backwards to accomodate the visitor population, especially when the visitor population is not an invited guest?
Put simply scaling it down to a host and a visitor walking through the front door provides a simplified context within which one can clearly come to conclusions over appropriate forms of behaviour.
2 - Organic versus Mass immigration - It is one thing to expect individuals to adapt to society along with a little bit of leniency on the part of the host, but it is entirely different when one starts to introduce groupings into th equation. multiple individuals from a foreign culture will tend to group together and form communities. These communities can provide a familiar grounding but it can also bring about insularity. Such communities could grow to the point where it becomes entirely feasible for individuals to skip adaptation prospects and live within the bubble of the community. This can even extend as far as individuals choosing never to adapt to the host society.
3 - Economic interests - In the case of locations such as the UK, mass immigration was a policy practiced with the intention of gaining access to cheaper labour to drive the economy. While it can have this effect and can benefit the few, such has a less optimistic effect upon the host population at large as they suddenly find their rights eroded in the context of an alternative pool of labour that will do the same task for less. This, amongst other similar issues such as welfare, creates resentment within the host population.
In the case of the Maltese Islands there does exist a strong economic element even if the immigration process was not directly state sanctioned. Many immigrants remain dependents upon the Maltese taxpayer.
- - - - -
Multiculturalism such as that which occurs between nations of similar economic outlook, such as the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, America, can work. These are not mass movements of populations experiencing major disparities in prosperity and so there is a limited degree of insularity going on - The visitor adapts to the culture of the host nation and shares some of his or her own - but in a natural fashion, not forced.
Europe (along with Malta) should look south for these reasons. Mass immigration is an acknowledged issue - but it is an issue that can be solved, with just a little bit of gumption.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Jun 20th 2011, 18:49
It is an autofailing system. It never worked anywhere. Merkel, Cameron, Sarkozy all said that it doesn't work because they ahve the experience of their countries to back their claim.
James Shaun Cauchi
Jun 20th 2011, 10:20
'Burden Sharing' will never be a cure to the issue for the crux of the problem lies in Africa.
'Burden Sharing' is, at best, a pressure valve through which Africans immigrate to Malta and Europe.
And, judging from the dismal 'Burden Sharing' actually going on, shall result in a great concentration of Africans in points of direct reception - Places like Lampedusa, Malta, Italy.
'Burden Sharing' involves these countries turning to other 'member states' and effectively begging them to take a little of the burden of our hands. I don't know about the rest of the Maltese population, but I feel that we have at least a little more dignity than to beg like 'jahasras' in order to get a policy invented by others to work within our borders.
We need to show a little self-respect and push for a shift in notion from 'Burden Sharing' to proactively solving issues within the African continent.
NATO seems to have a lot of money to bomb North Africa - perhaps they could spare a little of that throwaway cash on actually helping the continent. Perhaps this is the kind of 'Burden Sharing' we 'should' be talking about - the betterment of Africa itself, rather than the non-solution that we seem to think is fashionable (burden sharing).
Mr joseph saliba
Jun 20th 2011, 09:31
One question still bugs me. If a person is granted 'refugee status' in Malta what precludes him from legally travelling and settling in another EU country? A question many a lay person like me asks everytime the subject comes up. Please, some reliable answer from a professional on the subject can clear the mystery.
Carmel Ellul
Jun 20th 2011, 11:19
They can be granted a temporary travelling document which would allow them to leave the country for Italy or France or the UK or Germany.
But the crux of the problem is that they should travel south back to their own countries where the political situation has now settled.
Alfred Bugeja
Jun 20th 2011, 11:50
Persons who are granted protection are eligible for what is called a "Convention Travel Documents". These are only valid for three months, which means that whoever leaves Malta on such a document, is bound to return here within three months. Those who don't do so and are caught staying in another EU country without a valid document are identified using the EURODAC system and flown back to Malta because Dublin II states that the country which first first receives the asylum application of a person remains responsible for that person, unless he or she is resettled.
Please choose the reason of your report below: